


What to Expect When You Never Planned on Expecting

by EClairedeLoon



Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (2011)
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/M, First Time, M/M, Pre-Relationship, The avengers go baby crazy, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-13
Updated: 2014-03-14
Packaged: 2017-11-09 20:57:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/458300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EClairedeLoon/pseuds/EClairedeLoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Darcy never saw herself as a mom. She's thought of herself as a badass bitch, a party girl, a friend, a screwup, a fuckbuddy, and, lately, a kinda-sorta permanent fixture in the Avengers Tower, but a mom? Never.</p><p>But then the second little pink line appears on the pregnancy test, and her life is going to need some rearranging.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Between the Lines

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this might be strange, but this is my first time writing a het fic! I'm kind of in unfamiliar waters here, so I apologize if things are weird or different until I get the hand of this whole writing straight couples thing :P
> 
> Unsurprisingly, this is yet another prompt from the kink meme. I can't get enough of Darcy, really, so I saw this and a million ideas popped into my head.
> 
> As usual, self beta'd so please forgive any errors. If it's a glaring error, I would love for you to tell me. Constructive criticism is always welcome :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Darcy sat in her tiny office, located in the bowels of the SHIELD's underground lab facilities, and tried not to slowly lose her mind. One of the perks of her job as handler-in-training (babysitter) to the Avengers was the lack of consistency. Every day was different. One day she was chasing after Tony Stark, putting out the fires his robots seemed to ignore in favor of hosing the engineering himself, and then next she was running across town, looking for a renegade thunder god that was eating his way through Little Italy.

Today she was in self imposed exile under the guise of catching up on the massive amount of paperwork being an Avenger seemed to accrue. They were basically overgrown toddlers with the ability to cause more havoc than any pint-sized pipsqueak could ever dream of achieving.

However, Darcy was _not_ doing paperwork. Instead, she was sitting in her windowless office, staring at grey walls, and very quietly trying not to freak the fuck out. Ladies and gentleman, for the first time in her life, Darcy Lewis was fucking _late_.

Fuck. FUCK. _FUCK_.

Since her sexual debut at the age of sixteen, Darcy had never once missed her period, never forgotten to use a condom, and never forgotten to take her birth control. She may have whatever attitude towards most things in life, but pregnancy was never one of them. Darcy was always down for a good time, a good drink, a good fuck, but she was damn responsible in the sack.

She had never envisioned herself as a mom. Ever. Darcy changed her mind a million times a day, she had changed her major six times before it stuck, had dyed her hair and changed her clothes and jobs and friends and lovers, sometimes without so much as a second thought, but the one thing that was a constant in her life was her absolute disinterest in spawning.

She was the Queen of the Pushup Bras and Reckless Decisions. She was the one you came to for advice on how to seduce your boyfriend, not because you'd skinned your knee or had a runny nose.

And now, here she was, six days into her first missed period in the History of Ever, and biting her nails down to sad little nubs while trying to will herself to start her period. Now. Nnnnow. Right now.

She let out a shaky breath and ran her fingers through her hair. She glanced at the clock and realized she had been sitting in her crappy swivel chair for five straight hours and couldn't put it off any longer. Darcy reluctantly got to her feet and trudged out of the office. She stiffly waved to the few grunts that looked up at her as she passed and exited the building.

Darcy kept her head down as she waited at the bus stop. She knew that she could just call Happy to come get her and he's show up with a smile, but she kind of felt she needed to do the walk-of-potential-reproductive-shame by herself. There was no way he'd let her unusually-mopey attitude go and then Stark would find out and dig into everything about her ever and then her future-maybe-spawn would even be traumatized because her shame would leak through to the baby.

She boarded the bus and rode the four stops to the nearest Rite Aide and proceeded to have to most awkward shopping experience of her life, including the time she had to pick Jane up from the dentist after having her wisdom teeth removed, been puked on by said 90 pound scientist, and then had to wait for her prescriptions while trying to prevent Jane from tinkering with the automatic blood pressure cuff machine while sobbing about Thor.

Darcy tried to play it cool, grabbing a basket and tossing in whatever items her hands touched as she monitored the "family planning" aisle. She'd meandered up and down the aisle four times now, trying to eye the pregnancy tests enough to just pick one without standing there too long to give herself away. And also to build up the nerve to actually grab the damn thing.

This was ridiculous. She'd tasered the God of Thunder (and abs), for fuck's sake! Picking up a pregnancy test should be… well, perhaps child's play wasn't the best choice of words at the moment. Finally she just sighed and grabbed one at random and tossed it in her basket, hastily covering it up with the pomegranate body wash and bags of candy she'd snagged on one her circuits around the store.

Her heart pounded as she made her way to the front to pay. She couldn't believe this. She had vowed to _never_ be this girl. She'd made some bad choices, all of which she'd gladly own up to, but she never wanted to be the girl that made the one mistake that would ruin the rest of her life. And if not ruin, at the very least change it into something she couldn't recognize.

She avoided the two elderly cashiers, not in the mood for generational judgment, and made her way to the stone-faced teenager working the far register. Her face didn't change once as she rang up the motley array of ridiculousness she'd purchased and Darcy was grateful. Her hand shook as she slid her card through the reader and mercilessly shoved her purchases in the gigantic bag that she'd been carrying around since she'd picked it up on an impromptu (drunk) trip to Mexico.

Everything in her life just screamed how not ready she was to be a mom. Her purse from Mexico. She found the ring she was wearing while fooling around with someone under a pier. Her room was riddled with empty energy drinks and coffee cups and half-empty bottles of wine. The only thing in her fridge was a three day old Chinese takeout, about a dozen beers, and coffee creamer. Her freezer had a bottle of tequila and a frozen dinner that had been there since she moved in.

Up until now, the only responsible thing in she had going for her was her sex life. Since joining the Avengers almost a year ago she'd been going through one helluva self-imposed dry streak. Casual sex and highly classified knowledge didn't mix. For the first time, she had purpose. Something stable in her life that didn't make her skin crawl or send her running for the hills.

And then the Star Spangled Man with a Plan came along and ruined all of hers.

Darcy couldn't remember what lead to them falling into bed together (and wasn't _that_ another tick in the con column for motherhood), but it had been hot, seriously shiver inducing, and Darcy allowed herself a little pat on the back that Captain America wanted to tap that. But then morning came and the pleasurable haze that had settled over her dissipated.

Steve had blushed and stammered and looked anywhere but her before mumbling his apologies, jamming himself into his clothes, and spending the next 26 hours in the gym.

She idly wondered if breaking Captain America could have her classified as a Communist and stripped of citizenship.

When they inevitably ran into each other in the communal kitchen, it had been awkward. She ruthlessly smothered the tiny part of herself that felt crushed by rejection of what was possibly the most amazing man she'd ever met and couldn't help but feel like it was her own damn fault.

She made no effort to hide her reckless nature. She didn't make excuses for her crazy lifestyle and often shared ridiculous stories with the team after a few drinks. She'd said time and again how she couldn't imagine settling down and didn't see herself as a girlfriend, as a wife, and never wanted the traditional American dream. It should be no surprise Steve gave her the politest let down of her life.

She felt nauseated as she rode the elevator up to her floor in Avengers Tower. The pregnancy test felt like a lead weight in her purse. Darcy all but ran to her room once the doors slowly slid open and firmly locked the door behind her.

She locked the one in her bathroom as well, just in case, and pulled out the unholy pink box to read the instructions. "JARVIS," she choked. "Close your computerized peepers and don't breathe a word of this to Stark."

" _Very good, Miss Lewis."_

She ripped a hole in her stockings as she pulled them off and followed the instructions. The following three minutes were the longest of her life. She sat on the edge of the tub as she stared at the end of the stick and begged with her entire being for only one line to show up, just one line. Just one little pink line.

Her blood rushed in her ears as a second pink line slowly came into sharp relief against the white stick, and just like that, her life as she knew it was over.

Despite her militant stance on birth control, she was somehow pregnant. Apparently an aggressive course of antibiotics and birth control plus Super Soldier Super Sperm equaled one Star Spangled Baby.

Then she thought about Steve. How was this going affect him? Darcy wasn't sure, but getting a girl pregnant outside marriage probably didn't jive with his 1940's code of ethics. Sure, he'd adapted to the twenty first century pretty, well, but unexpected pregnancies were in a category all their own.

She felt a cold tendril of dread grip her as she imagined telling Steve. Because she _had_ to tell Steve. He wasn't an idiot, he'd be able add two and two together to come up with four and know that the baby was his. And she'd accept whatever decision he made, to be involved or not. She certainly wasn't going to force someone to be a parent; she had experienced what that was like first hand.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by a disembodied voice.

" _Miss Lewis, I thought it prudent to inform you Miss Romanov has been knocking at your door for some time now."_

Double fuck.

She rushed to hide the box at the bottom of her trash can and tossed the positive pregnancy test in one of the drawers. She looked in the mirror and grimaced. She looked terrible. It was so obvious something was amiss that Natasha wouldn't even have to use her mystical spy powers to figure out she was having an emotional meltdown.

She fumbled with the lock in the bathroom and then jogged to the bedroom door, taking a deep breath so she wouldn't word vomit everywhere, and faced the Black Widow.

"Darcy," she began. "I saw you run from the elevator. Is there something wrong?"

 _Is there ever,_ she thought. "Nothing you guys need to worry about," she replied. "All quiet on the western front."

She tried for her usual cheery grin. From Natasha's unimpressed eyebrow flick, it wasn't fooling anyone. "Personal thing," she tried. "I'm working on it." She'd be working on it for the rest of her life.

The assassin gave her a long, calculating look before nodding her head in acknowledgment and walking away. Darcy closed the door and let out a relieved sigh. She walked back to the bathroom and pulled up the door she'd tossed the pregnancy test in and brought it into her room. She sat on the edge of her bed and just looked at it and looked at it and then looked some more until JARVIS was once again interrupted her to tell her that dinner was ready and if she didn't show herself in the next five minutes, Mr. Stark was coming to get her.

She knew Bruce had done the cooking tonight and his rule was no one ate until everyone was in at the table. Tony didn't let anything come between him and Dr. Banner's excellent cooking, so it was a miracle he wasn't already breaking down her door. Natasha must have dished.

Darcy washed her face and quickly got out of her work clothes, tossing on a pair of soft cotton shorts and a faded red t-shirt. She slipped some socks on her chilled feet and made her way to the kitchen.

It turned out the night's offering was pasta, but Darcy didn't have much of an appetite. She ate mechanically, clearing her plate but not reaching for seconds. Steve sat two chairs away from her and she was uncomfortably aware of his presence. She felt a terrible guilt for the bomb she was about to drop on him.

As Clint pushed away from the table with a contented hum, talk immediately turned to going out.

She thought about trying to slip away, but that was a feat damn near impossible when you lived under this roof. Between super spies and omniscient AI's, there was no such thing as sneaking.

"Darcy!" Clint shouted, snapping his fingers in front of her. "Are you coming?"

"Where?"

Tony smirked and tossed his napkin at her. "Rita's, Lewis. Get with the program."

And of course they had to choose her favorite tequila dealer on the night when she was most certainly not going out. In fact, she wouldn't be going out for quite some time. And _oh god_ she'd been _drinking_. Not a lot, but still. Fuck! She swallowed thickly and shook her head. "Not tonight, folks."

Tony pouted. "Who else is going to drink margaritas with me?"

Clint laughed gave Tony a sly grin. "You're such a girl! Drink a real drink for once."

Darcy rolled her eyes and tossed Tony's napkin at Clint. "Please, you drink appletinis and everyone knows it. Putting it in a different glass doesn't fool anyone." Clint pouted too. She made no effort to conceal how beat she felt. "I'm just not feeling up to it."

"Are you still not feeling well?" Bruce asked, eyes concerned.

And of _course_ one of them had to be a real, legit doctor, ready to take care of all their medical needs. "Long day," she said. "I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow."

He looked skeptical but let it go. She smothered a frown. It wouldn't be long before he found out, anyway. Before they all found out, but Steve had to be the first one to know.

Steve only accompanied the group out maybe twice a month. Since he couldn't really get drunk and didn't like to see people in that state, he generally hung back. Only when Tony really ribbed him or Thor insisted did he go with, them and tonight it looked like he was staying home.

Part of her was relieved. Kind of made it easier for her—she didn't have to separate him from the herd, you know? The Avengers were very rarely alone. The other part of her wanted to shove him out of the door so that she wouldn't have to deal with this, not right now, not ever.

But she knew the longer she waited, the worse it would be and, quite frankly, she just wanted it to be over with. She just needed to know. _He_ just needed to know.

When it appeared that no one was going to contest her desire to stay home she jumped from the table, put her plate in the dishwasher and inconspicuously made her way to her room.

How was she supposed to do this? What was her angle? Did she bring the pee stick with her? Would she need proof? How did she start? _Hey, remember that time you made a huge mistake and rocked my world?_

Ugh. She was so not cut out for this.

She allowed herself to be a coward and hid in her room until JARVIS told her everyone held left, save Captain Rogers. She put the pregnancy test back in the bathroom and asked the AI where she could find Steve.

" _The living room, Miss Lewis. Shall I tell him you're looking for him?"_

"No thanks, JARVIS. I got it from here."

Since the night they had slept together, Steve had been very careful about not treating her any differently, and really, she appreciated it. She'd gone through her fair share of rejections, but this is the first time one stuck around.

She rounded the corner and Steve immediately looked toward her. For a second, he seemed sad, but plastered on a genuine smile for her. "Feeling better?" he asked

"Uh, not really."

He frowned. "What's wrong? _Are_ you still feeling sick?" He gave a rueful smile. "I understand if you didn't want to say so in front of Bruce. He can be a worry wart."

She plopped on the couch next to him. Darcy let out a weak laugh. "No, I'm not sick," she said, staring at the cluttered coffee table.

 _Don't cry. Don't you dare cry_ , she thought vehemently. She realized she had been silent for too long.

"Is everything all right?" he asked in concern.

She laughed again, thick and a bit hysterical. "I don't know."

Darcy jumped when she felt a warm hand curl around her shoulder. "You can talk to me," he offered seriously, his stupidly gorgeous face all earnest and heartbreaking.

She sniffed resolutely. "I kind of have to."

He reached for the remote and the television off before turning to face her completely, looking uneasy. She had his undivided attention. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Is it bad?" he asked. "Are you in trouble? Is someone bothering you?"

"No one's bothering me," she rushed to clarify, thinking of what happened to the intern that had taken an unhealthy interest in her. None of the Avengers would own up, but she wasn't dumb enough to think someone would volunteer to be transferred to Siberia.

Steve looked more concerned by the minute. "What is it?"

She felt her bottom lip tremble, but even the most badass of bitches can feel vulnerable. Darcy looked at him. "Remember when we spent the night together?" she asked needlessly.

To her surprise, Steve blushed, and she couldn't quite place the emotion on hiss face, but definitely not revulsion. It gave her a little hope. "Yes," he answered quietly.

She thought about how she could ease her way into her announcement, but subtly and planning had never been Darcy's strong point. Blunt was her middle name. Darcy looked at him for a long moment, holding his eyes. "I'm pregnant," she said, voice breaking on the last word.

Steve's was absolutely still for a minute before very quietly whispering "What?"

She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant," she said, voice stronger.

To his credit, he didn't ask if she was sure it was his. Then again, it was probably unthinkable to him for a woman to lie about something like that. After a moment he brought a hand up to press against his face. He looked absolutely gob smacked.

Darcy felt her lips tremble again. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and his eyes flew to hers.

"What?" he asked. "Why are you sorry?"

"I don't know what happened," she continued, irgnoring his question. "I'm always so careful."

Steve sputtered for a minute, not knowing what to say. She interrupted his stuttering. "Did we use a condom?" she asked, knowing the answer but wanting her hear him say it.

"Yes," he replied, blushing a deep crimson.

"Did it break?"

Steve shook his head. "I—I didn't think so? But, I guess—I mean…I don't know? It—it must have."

And Darcy felt herself heading towards a very real breakdown in front of the man whose life she just turned on its head. "I'm so sorry," she said again, very nearly a sob.

"What in the world are you sorry for?"

"Because I'm _pregnant_!" she shouted, making him jump. "We're _not_ married! There's no picket fence or houses—we don't even have a _relationship—_ and I know it's not what you wanted and I'm messing up _everything_!"

She pressed her face into her hands. "It was one thing for me to screw up my own life, but I was never supposed to screw up anybody else's."

A moment later a handkerchief was being pressed into her hand and she finally gave in and let a few hot tears slip out. She knew he was just being kind, but it made it even worse. Steve was such a nice guy, the perfect guy, and she was dropping this on him.

"You didn't screw up anything," he assured softly.

Darcy stared at him in disbelief. "Right."

Steve shook his head. "I never imagined something like this happening," he admitted. "Not in a million years. And I don't know what to say, except that it's actually probably my fault—"

"Yeah right," she interrupted. "You've never done a damn thing wrong in your life."

He just shrugged bashfully. "Super soldier," he said. "They warned me something like this could happen, that I could be really…"

"Virile?" she supplied balefully.

He nodded, making her insides tumble with heat and anxiety both. "Yeah. I just never thought it was going to be a problem. Never really got over being that skinny kid from Brooklyn. Dames still intimidated me."

"And me?" she asked, having to know.

He laughed. "You still intimidate me, but you remind me of all the good things about people I used to love. They intimidated me to."

She looked at him incredulously. "You punched out mega-Nazis. How the hell do I intimidate you?"

He laughed in embarrassment and shrugged. "I never really punched Hitler."

"Still."

"I'm always intimidated by women I'm attracted to."

Darcy firmly quashed the warmth that bloomed in his chest. "Attracted to" didn't keep him around after they'd fallen in bed together and it didn't mean he'd stick around now.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

She searched for the right words. "How do you want to handle it?"

He paled. "Handle it?"

"No!" she said quickly. "That's not what I meant. I would never…" Steve looked immeasurably relieved. "I meant, what do _you_ want to do."

"Me?"

Darcy nodded. "I understand if you don't want to be involved. You didn't ask for this."

Truthfully, she wouldn't understand, she could never understand it, but she would accept it. She felt guilty as she saw his hurt look.

"Of course I want to be involved," he affirmed. "How could I not?"

She just shrugged, feeling weak with relief. At least she wouldn't have to do this alone. "You'd be surprised," she said eventually.

His lips tensed into a thin line. "Anything you need," he promised. "Whatever you want. Just let me know."

And then he was biting his lips against a reluctant smile. "What?" Darcy asked, the hint of a smile in her own voice, now that the worst was over.

Steve shook his head. "It might not be the best time."

"Tell me," she prodded.

He chuckled. "It's just—Tony's never going to let this go."

Darcy laughed outright. She had no delusions about keeping this from the rest of the Avengers, and she knew Stark was probably going to wet himself in glee once he heard Captain America got a girl knocked up out of wedlock.

Steve laughed along with her and shook his head ruefully. "He's had sex with goodness know how many women and doesn't have a single accident, and you're only the third woman I've ever been with, and I've got a baby one the way."

"Maybe the reason Tony invents so much is because he's compensating for something," she suggested wickedly. "Maybe you're the only virile one around here. Pretty sure Bruce's accident has him shooting blanks and Clint was in the circus. All the spandex can't be good for the family jewels."

Steve laughed. "I don't know about that. Isn't Thor supposed to be some kind of fertility god?"

She shrugged, but privately agreed. Thor was a fine looking male specimen. "You're the only one putting your money where your mouth is right now, if you know what I mean."

He quieted and nodded slowly. Darcy kicked herself for breaking the easy banter they had going, not ready to go back to the serious place. Steve eyed her for a long moment. "So," he said softly. "We're having a baby."

She nodded, trying not to stare at her currently-unchanged stomach. "Yup."

"How did you find out?"

"Took a pregnancy test," she said. "They came out with ones you can do at home in the 70's so chicks didn't have to run to the doctor all the time. Good thing to, because I knew a girl that would have been there _all_ the time. God, you'd think our health center didn't give away free condoms with the way she was always freaking out," she rambled.

"Can I—can I come with you?" he asked hesitantly. "When you go to the doctor? Can I come with you?"

"Of course," she said. "You didn't need to ask."

He shrugged. "Before," he said, and Darcy knew he was talking about before he was a living block of ice. "A buddy of mine's wife was expecting. He said she didn't want him to come along."

Darcy shrugged. Now that Steve had made it clear he wasn't going to drop her and her spawn like a bad habit, she expected nothing but complete and total involvement. Sure, he didn't have to make _every_ appointment or dote on her hand and foot, the man had a job to do and Darcy liked her alone time, but she wasn't going to accept a fair weather father. She didn't think Steve would be the absent dad type, but she wouldn't know for sure until the thing was born.

Oh _god_. Birth. She repressed a shiver and turned her attention back to Steve and his stupid, handsome face that made her want to cry and cuddle all at the same time. "Anything you want," she said.

He smiled at her and reached forward to wipe the stay tear tracks from her face. "Pretty sure that's my line."

There was another pause. "You know my "doctor" is probably going to be Bruce, right? Fury's not just going to let me take Captain America's baby to just any doctor, and I refuse to be poked at by people I don't know."

Steve frowned. "I'll handle Fury. You can see whoever you want."

And wasn't _that_ hot; Steve offering to defy authority really did it for her in all the right places. She shrugged. "Figure Bruce is our best bet; especially if it turns out we have ourselves a super baby."

Steve looked nervous once more. Clearly he'd never thought about the affects of the serum past his own experience with it. "Do you think that can happen?"

Darcy shrugged, aiming for nonchalance even though the thought terrified her. "We'll find out."

Steve didn't look comforted, but there really wasn't anything to say. They wouldn't know until she was further along, maybe not even until it was born. She felt a pang of anxiety go through her. She may not have planned for this, but she was going to be the best damn mother she could be to her mystery spawn.

"How-how do you want to tell the team?" Steve asked.

Darcy breathed out. "Maybe we should wait."

"Wait?"

Darcy nodded. "Not too long; it's going to be pretty obvious I'm insperminated. But it would be nice to have a few days to get my shit together. I have to call my mom, let SHIELD know I'll be out of commission for a while, file the paper work—"

"Paperwork?" he interrupted. "You have to file paperwork for being pregnant? That's ridiculous!"

Darcy nodded. "Tell me about it. Though it will be kinda nice not to have to chase you guys around the city. My feet are _already_ killing me."

Steve was quiet and there was that emotion she couldn't place again. "Do you… not want to wait?" she asked.

Steve shook himself from his contemplation. "No, I think a few days would be good."

"A lot to take in," she said knowingly.

Steve sputtered and moved to deny it, but Darcy just smiled pointedly. He deflated a bit and gave her a sheepish smile. "Maybe a bit," he relented.

"S'cool. Kinda sprung a bomb on you. Not every day your one-night-stand tells you she's knocked up."

"That's—you're not. You mean a lot to me. I care about you. I just… I never meant for that to happen."

Darcy felt her smile falter. They'd been over this. And when she says "over this", she means Steve tried to express himself and Darcy smiled tightly while pointedly not listening to what he said so she couldn't analyze every word and cry into countless bottles of wine for the next two weeks.

"I get it," she said, even though she didn't.

"No," he replied, sound frustrated. "I'm not—I'm terrible at this. I say the wrong thing, all the time."

Steve was so clearly upset that her heart went out to him. He was such a genuine guy and it hurt to see him so distressed. She reached over and covered him strong hand with her own. "Sounds like you need to take a few days, too."

She could see he wanted to object, to deal with whatever he was feeling now, but she knew he needed time. This evening had already gone much better than she could ever have imagined. He didn't call her names or disown his future child, so she was already counting it as a win.

"Take a few days," she said again, her emotions swelling high enough to overcome her once more. "It looks like we both need it."

She squeezed his hand once and stood. "Think it over," she said. "You know where to find me."

She turned without preamble and made her way to her room, eyes prickling. She swiftly walked the last few steps and shut the door noiselessly before diving onto her bed. She clutched a pillow to her chest and buried her face in the soft down and cried.

Hours later, she forced herself out of bed and stared at her room. She stood abruptly and stomped to the kitchen, feeling relieved when Steve was nowhere to be found. Darcy pulled out a few trash bags and strode to her room in determination.

She grabbed every bottle of alcohol, soda, and Red Bull she could find and tossed them into the bag. She looked around her room, the messy space of a twenty-something screw up, and growled in anger, throwing the trash bag onto the floor.

A few empty bottles tumbled out and rolled a few feet across the floor. Darcy huffed and ruthlessly tossed them bag inside before knotting the bag and striding over to her closet desk. She grabbed a paper and pen and took a deep breath.

She had some major re-prioritizing to do.


	2. Proof Positive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again folks! I have been surprised and flattered by the response to this fic and I thank each and every one of you that liked, commented, bookmarked, subscribed, or favorited this story with only the first chapter to go on.
> 
> I want to apologize for the gap between updates. I didn't think before posting, and I updated the first chapter a day before getting ready for my best friend's bachelorette party and then the week leading to her wedding. I have been up to my ears in wedding mess, but since they were happily wed yesterday, I finally had time to get this out.
> 
> Once again, this is self beta'd, so please forgive my mistakes. I try to catch everything, but I know I don't. I'm going back through all my Avengers stories and picking through them for mistakes. There is a shameful amount. :(
> 
> ** Some lovely folks pointed it a glaring error or two and I have now since fixed them :) Hope things are clearer now! Thank you to fructosebat and thatrainbow.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

If Darcy thought _thinking_ she was pregnant was stressful, it was nothing compared to the first days of _knowing_ she was pregnant.

Steve was a ghost. She didn't see him in the kitchen, the gym, the office, the pool, not even the little garden Tony kept on the roof that Steve spent so many hours in. It was like he was completely erased from the fabric of Avengers Towers and it was making Darcy more than a little worried.

Since she had that fateful conversation with Steve, things had not been going her way. The entire team was already eyeing her in suspicion. Bruce kept finding reasons to be around her, catching her my the wrist when she tripped on a new area rug and holding on for just a few seconds too long because he wasn't just steadying her, he was surreptitiously taking her pulse. Reaching for a tea cup and brushing the back of his hand against her forehead. Evening meals turning into hearty soups and comforting cuisine designed to aid a sick person.

Or a pregnant one.

She didn't say anything, let him do his thing, but she knew he suspected something was up. From the way Tony kept more openly securitizing her, she guessed he'd shared his concerns with everyone's favorite engineer—and just when had _they_ gotten so chummy? As far as Darcy knew, unless someone was talking about robots or explosions or booze or how to best irritate Fury, Tony Stark didn't give a damn.

She'd finally worked up enough courage to call her mom on the third day of knowing she was carrying the Super Spawn and it had gone just about as well as she expected. Her mother hadn't screamed, but Darcy wished she had. Her mother very quietly told her what a disappointment she was, and how she had always known that Darcy wasn't going to be worth the effort before informing her she was no longer welcome in her home and not to bother calling unless she had taken care of this problem.

Yeah, good old mom. Darcy took comfort in the fact that, thanks to her mother, she knew everything _not_ to do while raising a child.

Since then she had made a list of all the things she needed to do before her spawn made its debut. Darcy had taken her tablet computer to a coffee shop far from the Tower's network so she was able to research all the things being pregnant entailed.

She'd skipped all the biological stuff—she was sure Bruce was going to make her watch videos and personalized PowerPoint's when she finally spilled the beans—and went straight for the legwork.

So far, her list looked like this:

1\. Talk to emotionally retarded Super Soldier.

2\. Tell Bruce, then team. Hide in room for a week.

3\. File pregnancy paperwork. Glare at Fury.

4\. Stock up on vitamins and other baby medicine to prevent malformed spawn.

5\. Find out if it's a boy or girl—don't decorate room blue or pink. Yellow? Green?

6\. Buy baby things. Diapers and clothes and crap.

7\. Look into getting an apartment? Baby + Avengers might not be a good idea.

8\. Do not let Tony build a nanny robot.

9\. Figure out how to take care of a baby— _maybe_ let Tony build a nanny bot.

10\. Give. Birth.

11\. **DO NOT KISS STEVE!**

The last one was bolded, starred, decorated with ominous lightning, and in red ink. It was the most important and difficult thing right now; the thing that could potentially ruin all the good she had worked for.

Despite the fact that she wanted to throttle Steve for his vanishing act, she was still hopelessly attracted to and in deep, deep like with him. Love wasn't right, not at this stage, and infatuation implied it was a fleeting, unhealthy thing. The only unhealthy thing her life right now was the double cheeseburger she had allowed herself to eat for lunch. She thought she had handled her feelings for America's favorite son very well, thank you very much.

She stomped up to her room, allowing herself to dwell on black thoughts and working herself into a right snit. She kicked open her door and sat down in the lounge chair that appeared in her room earlier this week. She was pretty sure this was Tony's way of saying he hoped she felt better.

Darcy toed off her shoes and crossed her legs, snuggling back into the plush confines of the navy settee. She fumbled for her bag and pulled out what she had bought earlier.

She had been meandering through the store when this stupid stuffed animal caught her eye. It was the most obnoxious shade of orange and made of some sinfully soft and squishy material—perfect for babies. It was about the size of her hand and in the shape of an octopus, the underside of the tentacles a bright yellow.

What the hell? What did it say about her that the first purchase she'd made for her spawn was a random-ass sea monster? She stared at its fabric eyes and squeezed it as hard as she could, watching as it bulged around the gaps between her fingers grotesquely.

What the hell was wrong with her?

She tossed the stupid thing across the room, grinning a little when it went into her open closet. She let herself sit in the chair for a few moments before prying herself up and forcing herself into the shower. She glanced at the clock as she toddled across the room and noted that it was well past ten in the evening and she had successfully avoided all Avengers and related personnel for 24 hours.

It had been nine long days since she had found out she was in the family way. Nine days of dodging questions and looks and trying desperately not to feel a little more crushed by each day that passed without Steve's presence. Darcy knew he needed time to think things over—she just didn't think he'd need this much time.

She slowly stepped out of her clothes and groaned, mentally adding "buy maternity clothes" onto her ever-growing list. She took her time in the shower, grateful for the never ending supply of hot water found at the Towers. She let the pounding water ease the tension in her muscles and joints and sighed in relief as her body relaxed by increments.

She reluctantly turned off the shower and stepped into the muggy bathroom air. Now that she was out of the shower, Darcy just felt uncomfortable warm and sticky. She quickly wrapped a towel around herself and slipped into her room, giving a little delighted shiver at the cool air.

She dressed in her softest, rattiest pajamas and curled under the covers. She wanted to do more research but was too worried that her search history would be noticed. Her paranoia had served her well before, so she wasn't keen to ignore it.

Darcy lounged in bed, flicking through the thousands of channels without focus. She hadn't been in bed for more than twenty minutes when she was pulled from her thoughts by a minute tapping sound. She muted the TV and sat up, straining to hear the sound again. It came again, but still so slight she wasn't sure if she was hearing something in the hall or just the echo of something happening in one of the labs.

" _Miss Lewis,"_ JARVIS said suddenly, making her jump. _"Captain Rogers appears to be attempting to knock."_

Darcy could hear an exasperated sigh on the other side of her door and fought the ridiculous smile that wanted to bloom on her face. She hung her head for a moment before tossing back the covers and striding across the room. She pulled open the door and Steve's gorgeous face was pulled into sheepish grimace.

"I didn't want to wake you," he explained.

She shrugged. "I wasn't asleep. Couldn't tell if someone was knocking or if Tony was doing science."

They looked at one another for a long moment before Darcy stepped back and invited Steve into her room. She shut the door and scurried over to her new favorite chair, snuggling into the navy cushions. Steve hesitantly perched on the edge of her coffee table and rested his forearms on his knees, hands clasped together.

The silence grew and Darcy shifted uncomfortably. "So…"

"Sorry," Steve replied. "I thought I'd be better at this the second time around."

"S'all right," she said, trying her best to be patient even though it had been _nine fucking days_.

"I'm sorry I was so strange when you told me," he began. "I should have been more supportive. You were the one that did all the work, put in all the effort, when you were already so upset."

She shook her head. "You were plenty supportive. Way more than I had anticipated."

He looked at her disbelievingly. "Did you really expect me to, what, not care? Yell at you? Is that the normal reaction?"

Darcy shrugged. "Not really my area. Kind of the first time I've had to give this talk, but from what I've heard down the grapevine, yeah, that's pretty common."

He shook his head. "Well, I care, and I definitely don't want to yell at you."

Darcy pursed her lips. "What _do_ you want to do?"

"I want to be a good dad," he said honestly. Her ire died a quick death. "I want to do right, by you and the baby. I want to do this together."

She smiled, feeling it wobble on her face. "I can work with that."

His face grew a bit more serious and a lot more worried. "I want things between us to be okay."

"They're okay."

"No, they're not," he replied quickly. "You know they're not."

Darcy sighed. "They _will_ be okay."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked. "Because I'm not."

Darcy stared at him blankly for a moment, not knowing how to respond. "What do you want me to say?"

He sighed and buried his head in his hands. "I don't know," he admitted. "You'd think I'd have more to say after nine days."

Darcy privately agreed.

"I just…I just thought and thought and thought and it wasn't doing any good. All I know is that I want to do this—with you—and that's all that matters right now. I want the team to know, even though I know they are going to be unbearable, especially Tony. I want us to figure this out, together. And even though this isn't what planned to happen and it's completely unexpected, I'm still excited. I never thought I would even have this much of a family."

Yeah, Darcy could definitely work with that.

"Okay."

Steve looked at her, surprised. "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay. We'll figure it out together. God knows I have no idea what I'm doing on my own; maybe we can work it out between the two if us."

Steve smiled, blindingly earnest and butterfly inducing. "Great." He scooted a bit closer. "How has everything been?" he asked, eyes flicking down to her unchanged stomach.

She sighed. "Good. All right. Been trying to get my priorities straight, making lists, all that jazz."

"Lists?"

Darcy nodded. "Of all the things I—we—have to do before the baby gets here."

Steve perked up a bit. "Can I see?"

She thought of the final bolded bullet point. "Uh, sure, later. I can't remember where I put it," she lied. She made another mental note to make a Steve-friendly list.

He smiled and nodded, his eyes darting from her face to her stomach. "There nothing there yet," she said wryly. "Nothing that you can see, anyway."

Steve grinned even harder. "I know. I just think it's amazing."

"What's amazing?"

"That you can do this. That women can do this; grow babies. Have children. Whatever you want to call it."

Darcy gave an amused snort. "I seem to remember having some help getting started."

Steve's smile didn't falter. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Darcy said eventually. "I guess it's pretty cool. I Googled some stuff earlier. It kinda looks like a whale right now. Apparently it's the size of a tic-tac."

"So little," Steve breathed.

"Yeah," she sighed. "We really need to tell Bruce. I think he's convinced I have some kind of disease, and I want to make sure I'm doing the right things, eating the right things. I can only find out so much from the internet and I would feel better actually asking a real doctor."

Steve smiled. "I'm glad I'm not the only one that likes the opinion of real people."

Darcy laughed. "I love the internet, but I don't think I can get someone to consult through a computer screen. Not that I'd want to."

Steve chuckled and his posture relaxed further. "When do you want to tell him?"

"Tomorrow?" she suggested. "It's been hard enough to keep it a secret this long. I know it's early still, but I really just want to know that everything's all right."

Steve nodded. "It's still okay if I come, right?"

Darcy nodded. "Of course. I told you, anything you want. It's your baby too."

Steve smiled again, and Darcy told her damn hormones to just quit. Have some decency, slut cells, mama's pregnant. They'd had their fun, and look where it got her.

"Great," he said. "After breakfast? I heard him tell Tony he'd been in his med lab, running more tests on his blood."

Her lips turned down minutely. "Is that safe?" she asked. "I know Bruce would never do anything to hurt anyone, but the baby…"

She was pretty sure the radiation plus baby hypothesis had already been tested to devastating results.

Steve hummed in thought. "We can try at breakfast, but we won't be able to separate him from Tony."

"Or Clint or Natasha or Thor," she reminded.

Steve shook his head, looking at her in confusion. "They've been gone for two days, haven't you noticed?"

What the _what?_ How had she missed that? She shook her head. "I guess not. Where did they go?"

"Africa, I guess. There was suspicious space activity, Fury wanted them to check if it could possibly be the Bifrost."

Darcy nodded. "Well, in my defense, I have been kind of distracted."

Steve tossed his head back and laughed. "Yeah, I'd say that's a good excuse."

Darcy chuckled lowly and rose as Steve stood from her little table.

"Okay. So, tomorrow. Breakfast. Be there or be square," she said, leaning against the open door as Steve stood in her doorway.

He gave her a decisive nod before abruptly stepping forward and pulling her into a quick hug. He pulled back and she teetered dangerously on the balls of her feet, feeling breathless with giddiness.

"Night," he said, waving as he backed away.

"G'night," she whispered, shutting the door with a soft _snick_.

She huffed out a slow breath and trudged over to her bed, collapsing on top of the soft surface. She crawled forward and under the blankets, turning off her muted TV and settling in. If she was going to make it to breakfast, she needed to get some sleep.

* * *

Darcy wasn't sure if she was experiencing her first bout of morning sickness, or if the nausea she was feeling was due to anxiety. She slowly padded down the hall and into the kitchen and tried not to let the fact that her heart leapt into her throat when she saw Tony show on her face.

As she watched his eyes narrow in contemplation, she knew she wasn't successful. She poured herself some cereal and orange juice snagged a peach yogurt from the fridge and took her usual place at the table.

Steve walked in a moment later, sparing her a nervous smile and making Tony scrutinize them even more. The engineer opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a thud-splat and a soft, vehement curse from Bruce.

There was a brief moment of capital "t" Tension as they all waited to see if they were going to have a little green problem, Steve taking a half a step toward her and making her heart jump happily, but it seemed their anxiety was unfounded.

Bruce appeared in the doorway a moment later, holding a huge stack of papers that had clearly toppled over. He looked ruffled and annoyed, but there was no emerald tint to his olive skin. He glared at Tony as he passed, setting his messy stack next to the grinning man and poured himself a truly impressive cup of coffee. Darcy had bought him the giant green mug as a joke for the big guy, but Bruce actually _used_ it. Sometimes more than once a day.

Eventually they were all at the table, unnaturally silent except for Bruce, who never said much of anything until he drained his mug. He absently reorganized his papers while sparing a hard stare for Tony every few pages. Tony leered at Bruce unrepentantly.

Meanwhile, she kept looking at Steve significantly and attempting to communicate her jumbled thoughts with nothing but long looks, eyebrows flicks, and pursed lips. Understandably, Steve had no idea what she was trying to say.

"Honestly!" Tony shouted, startling them all. "What the hell is going on?"

Darcy just sort of froze and Steve looked to her desperately for direction. "Uh," she said intelligently. "Um."

"For God's sake! You've been tip-toeing around here like a particularly skittish cat and Steve has been the amazing invisible man for over a week! So, what? What is it?"

"Tony," Bruce interjected, but was ignored.

"Are you planning something? Hiding something?"

And then he abruptly stopped and a look of understanding slowly dawned on his face. "Oh," he said lowly, voice low and filled with unholy glee. " _Oh_."

He rubbed his hands together and looked at Steve like a shark eyed a floundering fish. Darcy sighed and scrubbed a hand over her face. "Oh my God. Just kill me now."

Bruce looked cross. "Would someone like to tell me what's going on?" he asked in his best doctor voice.

Darcy sighed and looked at Steve. He nodded ever so slightly. Darcy focused on Bruce and steadfastly ignored Tony's delighted grin. "I'm not sick," she began. "I'm pregnant."

Bruce's eyebrows rose upward in a look of surprise. He glanced at Steve and then back to Darcy. He flipped over a sheet of paper and produced a pen out of nowhere. Since he'd been stateside, Bruce had started collecting degree likes some people collected porcelain figurines and Darcy was pretty sure it was just as much about learning as it was about pissing Fury off. More degrees equaled higher pay to someone that was recently considered a terrorist cell. Bruce was a troll like that.

Now she had the attention of Dr. Bruce Banner, M.D. "How pregnant?"

"Uh, seven weeks," Darcy replied.

"When did you find out?"

"Nine days ago."

"And your last regular period?"

At that, Tony made a childish sound of disgust and rose from table, clearing his plate off in the trash so he wouldn't have to hear.

"Four weeks ago."

Bruce nodded and continued writing, glancing up between them every few words. Steve cleared his throat hesitantly and leaned forward in his chair. He looked to Darcy before focusing his concerned look on Bruce. "Could the serum affect the baby?" he asked.

Bruce exhaled quietly. "Honestly?"

"Yes, honesty would be good," Darcy snarked.

Bruce wasn't ruffled by her tone. If anything, his demeanor softened. "It could."

Steve looked as though someone had physically struck him. Darcy wasn't feeling too hot either. She hadn't been to keen on the baby thing at first, but she was already attached to her spawn. It was hers, damn it, it had to be okay.

"Affect it badly?" she asked, voice unexpectedly thick.

Tony reappeared, his smug grin gone. He sipped his coffee and listened for Bruce's reply. He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. I won't know until we get a closer look, maybe not even until you're further along."

Darcy nodded in understanding. She'd never been that good at waiting. She slowly stirred her spoon inside her yogurt, appetite gone. Bruce took one last drag from his cup and gathered up his papers. "When you finish your breakfast, come downstairs," he said gently. "We'll take a look and have a chat."

She nodded and forced herself to finish eating at a snail's pace. Tony was surprisingly silent, displaying a tact she hadn't thought he could posses. She finished her breakfast and waited for Steve to finish his own, more sizeable meal. She hoped having a super baby didn't give her a super appetite. Just thinking about eating that much food made her feel green around the gills.

He took her dishes to the sink and gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. She stood when she heard the faucet turn off and made her way around the table to the doorway. Before they could go further Tony called out to Steve.

"Rogers!" he said. Steve stopped and turned to listen to him, because he was a saint and didn't have it in him to ignore someone.

"Yes, Tony?"

The shorter man gave him a rueful grin. "When you find out the wunderkind is going to be just fine, you will never hear the end of this."

Steve grinned and scrunched his face up in dread. "I know."

Tony gave them a wink tossed his head in the direction of the doors leading to the lab before turning back to his third cup of coffee. Darcy let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and followed Steve to Bruce's lab.

No one could fight like Steve and Tony could. They had mostly stopped clashing, but the only real fights that emerged between the Avengers were between those two and, surprisingly, Natasha and Thor. She didn't get between the Viking wet dream and the Black Widow—she wasn't an idiot—but she had to break up more Stark-Rogers spats than she liked to remember.

She stepped into the elevator with Steve and tried to keep down what she'd just eaten by sheer force of will. The closer they got to the lab, the more nervous she became. Mentally, she already knew that the serum that made Steve what he is today could affect the sorta-baby-shaped-thing she was toting around right now, but hearing it from Bruce made it more real.

There was a difference between knowing and _knowing_ , you know?

The door dinged and opened, letting them into Bruce's lab. Honestly, she thought his lab was more impressive than Tony's, more recognizable science-y things around, but she'd never say that out loud.

Bruce had already setup up an exam table and was tinkering with what Darcy thought must be a sonogram machine, his Dr. Banner persona in full swing. He looked up from his fiddling and smiled gently but it did little to put her at ease.

He gestured for her to get on the scale and she had a brief moment of vanity to lament about what the surprise spawn was going to do to her body. Then she felt a pang of embarrassment for realizing Steve was going to know what she weighed. She was a badass bitch, but she was still a woman, and a human; everyone had their insecurities.

Bruce did the usual stuff; weight, height, blood pressure, etc. and then came the part that was the cause for her spiking heart rate. Darcy hopped off the table and stepped behind a curtain to change into a thin cloth gown. At this stage her baby was far too small to see with the much-less-scary scanner thing and only visible with the awkward alien-probe thing.

Awkward.

Steve politely kept his eyes on her face or Bruce and Darcy felt another zing of longing for the perfect man in front of her. She hadn't seen her attraction to him and his good-boy image coming, and the effect was overwhelming.

"This might be cold," Bruce said, a second too late.

"Thanks for the warning," Darcy deadpanned.

The doctor smiled, ever-unruffled, and focused on the grainy black and white images on the screen. She did her best not so shift around uneasily while he searched for her little creature.

She realized she had Steve's hand clutched in her own and the normally brave soldier's eyes looked frightened for the first time she could ever remember. She pressed her fingers against his tighter and he answered in kind. The tension between them vanished for long moments. They weren't two people clumsily trying to make a relationship, any kind of a relationship, work; they were two worried future parents.

Finally Bruce stopped moving the probe. "Ah," he said. "There we are."

Darcy's eyes shot to the monitor. In the sea of grey fuzz there was a tiny black spot. Her spot. Despite her trepidation at being a mother, she felt a swell of protectiveness and joy.

"This little one is well within the normal range for a fetus of seven weeks. It's a bit magnified on the screen, and we won't know anything until you're farther along but, physically, all is well."

Darcy couldn't tear her eyes from the screen.

Bruce chuckled. "As you progress into your pregnancy, we'll be able to use the scanner that you're more familiar with. They're a bit difficult to find at this stage."

Steve had remained silent the entire time. Darcy forced her eyes from the screen and looked to the blond Super Soldier next to her. He appeared enraptured with the screen, still holding her hand, but much gentler now.

"Wow," he breathed.

Darcy felt herself smile for the first time since she'd come down here. She knew it was foolish to let herself dwell on her feelings for the big lug next to her, but she was pregnant and hormonal; she was entitled to some foolishness.

Bruce pressed a button and the frame froze. "Would you like a copy?" he asked. "Both of you?"

Darcy and Steve shared a look before nodding. Looks like she had finally found a use for all those picture frames she had accumulated over the years. Sane people would just throw them out, but Darcy was a room full of old newspapers and a dead animal carcass from being a hoarder. She hopped off the table when Bruce gave her a distracted nod and changed back into her clothes. Blech. She needed another shower.

Bruce pressed a button before turning around and grabbing something that made Darcy groan. She hated having blood taken. The smell of the latex gloves, the feel of the alcohol wipe, that terrible rubber cord they sometimes tied around your arm, feeling the needle's sting, all of it. She felt a clammy sweat break out over her body and immediately felt lightheaded.

Steve looked surprised by the intensity of her reaction to a simple medical procedure. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Darcy nodded stiffly. "Fine."

Steve didn't look convinced, but didn't press her. She jumped as she felt Bruce swipe an alcohol pad down her arm, leaving a swath of cold air in its wake. She stared at the frozen image on the sonogram monitor as she felt the prick of the needle and slowly counted the seconds until Bruce had collected enough blood to run the needed tests.

She exhaled in relief as she felt Bruce withdraw the needle and collapsed bonelessly on the exam table. Bruce made some notations on a clipboard and on the blood vial itself before stowing it in a fridge and handing them copies of the sonogram picture.

"Don't stress," he said. "I'm sure everything is just fine."

Darcy wasn't so sure but nodded anyway.

Bruce looked at her sternly. "Seriously, don't stress. It's not good for you or the baby."

"I don't think it works like that," she replied. "It's not like I can just decide not to be stressed. It's sort of involuntary."

The doctor just gave her that infuriatingly calm smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It does work like that. How do you think I keep from turning green every time I get annoyed? It's not foolproof, but it's something."

Darcy took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Calm. Right. I can do that."

Well, she could find a way to do that. The internet was a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Bruce handed them each a copy of the sonogram and indicated she could hop off the table. She did so quickly and adjusted her clothes while Bruce tidied up the area.

"It'll take me a little while to do the required tests as well as examine for evidence the serum may or may not be affecting your pregnancy. I'll let you know as soon as the results come back."

Steve nodded and Darcy took another deep breath. Bruce gave them another smiled and strode off in the direction of a million different machines spread out over a countertop.

The tension that had faded between her and Steve came back in full force, amplified by the fact that they were now in the cozy confines of the elevator. They door opened and Steve placed a hand out to hold the elevator door open.

She stepped out into the eerily quiet living room and stood in front of one another, awkward.

"So—"

"I'm—"

They chuckled painfully and Steve ran and hand through his blond hair. She wanted to reach up and smooth out the tousled locks. Instead, she pointed back toward her room with her thumbs. "I'm going to take a shower to get this doctor's office feeling off of me. I was going to go to SHEILD and file the paperwork. It's a Friday, so it should take the weekend before Fury finds out. Well, that's what I'm hoping."

He nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Um," she replied. "If you want. Now that the cat's out of the bag I was going to stop at the bookstore and pick up some stuff."

"I should probably do that too," he said. "I used that search engine and found out there was some books for dads too."

Darcy nodded. "Yeah, I saw some of those when I was looking," she answered, trying not to let her pleasure at his words show. She'd seem some of the books meant for fathers but hadn't known if Steve would be interested in them.

"Things are so different now," he continued. "There wasn't anything like this before. Too bad, really. I knew a couple of guys that could have used those books."

She smiled. "Did they still think the stork brought babies?" she teased.

"No," he said with a rueful chuckle. "They thought it was acceptable parenting to hit their children with a belt."

Darcy's smiled was wiped off her face. "Oh. Wow. Yeah, someone could have used a parenting guide. And maybe some therapy."

Steve nodded. "At the very least."

"Well, I think I'll take that shower now," she transitioned. "Meet you back here in twenty minutes?"

He nodded and moved to sit on the long sofa, grabbing a magazine and flipping through the pages idly. She walked to her room as calmly as she could manage, trying not to get nervous, trying not to let her heart pound. Darcy was pretty sure the worst things that could happen was for her to get her hopes up only to be let down by the Star Spangled Man a second time. Wanting to be a good father didn't equal wanting to be in a relationship with his child's mother.

She peeled herself out of her sticky clothes and stepped into the shower, immediately lathering up her shower pouf with the body wash to get rid of the sticky, sick feeling of a doctor's examination, even a doctor as amazing as Bruce.

She quickly finished her shower and dressed in clothes that were decent enough for the office but not uncomfortable for their trip to the bookstore. She glanced at the clock and noticed that it would soon be lunch time. Darcy realized she would likely have to endure a lunch with the most attractive and earnest man in the world.

Most women would be over the moon; Darcy just kept seeing number eleven on her list. She could do this. She added yet another number to the list: find pregnancy relaxation techniques.

Her phone buzzed from its place on the bed. She nabbed it and glanced at the screen. It was a text from Tony, for her and Steve.

_Chill. Super baby is fine-snuck into the lab. bruce just being careful. You know how he is._

She let out a shaky breath slid to the floor. It was fine. It was all going to be fine. It had to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go! I hope you liked it.
> 
> I know we didn't get to see all the Avengers reactions, but that will definitely be in the next chapter, followed by some pregnancy silliness.
> 
> I don't know if I've mentioned before, but all my knowledge of pregnancy and such are garnered from health classes, a mother in the nursing profession, a few friends that have gone through the process first hand. I'm pretty much in Darcy's state of mind toward children, so this stuff is a little foreign and freaky to me, while still being fascinating.
> 
> Let me know what you thought! Feel free to hint at things you'd like to happen! If enough people want to see it, I'll do my best to incorporate it into the story :)
> 
> Until next time!


	3. Many Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, such a response! I'm so glad that so many of you enjoyed the last chapter, especially after such a long wait. I would like to give a special thanks to **dayari** for leaving me one of the most amazing reviews and messages of encouragement I have ever received. Thank you, my darling. Also, a big thank you to **Roguesc** for reminding me of the need to give Darcy some lady support. Whoops!
> 
> Even more thanks to everyone that pointed out some pregnancy hiccups. I am always looking to create the most authentic piece of fiction possible, super spawn genetics aside. :P
> 
> This first part is going to be from Steve's point of view. I'd like to think it will be clear, but I don't always trust myself, and I haven't done it before in this fic, so I didn't want to confuse anyone too badly.
> 
> So, here's some more of our favorite gal and her emotionally challenged super soldier! Once again, un-beta'd, so I humbly apologize for any mistakes. Enjoy!
> 
> P.S. I kind of play hard and fast with pretty much everyone's past, especially Natasha and Clint. Please forgiven my wild yarn spinning and try to go with it. :P I wanted there to be some substance and reason behind their reactions.

Darcy texted Steve early Monday morning and Steve's heart did a strange fluttering-swoop combination. She had apologized for waking him, but Steve had been awake for hours, worrying. He had been with her as she filed the paperwork, and the dread he had been feeling over the Director of SHIELD finding out what should be such joyous news weighed on him heavily the entire weekend, despite his determination to enjoy the time spent with the mother of his future child.

She had been right; Fury found out as soon as the weekend was over. Although the name of the father wasn't necessary on the forms women were apparently required to fill out if they became pregnant while working at SHIELD, they had agreed it would be best if Steve's name was included. Steve thought it was ridiculous that a woman had to announce her pregnancy like this, in such a clinical and uncaring manner, but times had changed—and not for the best, in his opinion.

Still, Fury would be intolerable if he found out through some other channel.

He met her at her desk, noting that she seemed confused that he knew where she worked. Honestly, he felt terrible she was the one that got stuck with all the desk work thanks to their antics in the city. He had come in one day to help her fill them out.

But then he saw her, in the red dress that made her look so lovely and from a more familiar time, and had to turn around. There were too many things he didn't want to confront. Now, he wished he had. Darcy deserved better than what he had been giving her—half mumbled sentences and stunted declarations. At least he had been able to adequately explain his feelings about the baby. Their baby.

And now they were going to talk to Fury. Next to him the young woman clenched and unclenched her hands rapidly, breathing deep and slow. In through her nose, out through her mouth. In through her nose, out through her mouth. She was taking Bruce's advice very seriously.

Steve had no idea what to expect from Fury, had no idea what a _normal_ reaction to having a pregnant employee was. What was unreasonable? How should he…they…handle it? He wondered it Darcy would be offended if he stepped in if things got heated.

Women were very independent today—a fact he heartily approved of—but he didn't always understand when he was overstepping. He also thought some people we overly defensive and far too concerned with being politically correct, but he kept that to himself.

They stepped out onto Fury's floor and his personal secretary waved them into the office. The formidable man was seated at his desk, fingers steepled in front of his face. His good eye was locked on them, his face unreadable but stern.

"Have a seat," he bid.

Steve noticed Darcy's knees wobble as she sat and realized how frightened she was. Frightened that Fury was going to do something to the baby. His trepidation grew.

He stared at them, eye flicking back and forth between their forms, before shifting his posture and crossing his arms.

"I wasn't aware you two had formed an attachment," he said eventually, each word heavy with insinuation.

Darcy's mouth opened slightly but no sound came out. Her fingers gripped the chair. Steve took a deep breath.

"I wasn't aware you needed to be informed," Steve replied, hoping to shut down this line of questioning. Fury focused his considerable glare on him.

"When _you're_ involved, I need to be informed of everything, soldier."

Steve felt his hackles rise. SHIELD's obsession with his life and its happenings was a major bone of contention to him. "I'm not a soldier anymore," he countered. "My tour of duty ended over 70 years ago. Director," he added as an afterthought. He didn't want to make this more difficult for Darcy.

Fury didn't look pleased. "Be that as it may, this is a cause for concern and a department issue."

Steve begged to differ, but held his tongue.

"We'll need to be kept apprised of the situation and monitor the fetus's progress. You'll need to see a doctor."

Darcy cleared her throat and slid to the edge of her chair. "I've already seen Dr. Banner," she said, voice firm despite the anxiety he knew she was feeling. "I'm looking for an obstetrician. _We're_ looking for an obstetrician. There's just a lot of options."

"We'll have one of the medical professions on staff assist you."

Darcy bit her lip and picked at her nails. Not good.

"We're actually going to take care of finding a doctor ourselves. Outside the agency," he said. "We've been doing some research online."

Fury swiveled in his chair, an inch to each side. "I'm afraid I can't approve that."

Steve felt the arm of the chair he was gripping compress under his iron grip. "We aren't asking for your approval. We're finding our own doctor."

Beside him, Darcy let out a minute breath.

"Not acceptable," Fury declared. "We can't afford for this to get out."

Steve paused. "For what to get out?"

Darcy interrupted, sounding herself for the first time, voice derisive and angry. "Wouldn't want everyone to know Captain America got some girl pregnant outside of marriage. Not good for the squeaky clean image their working."

"I don't give a damn about image," Steve replied, eyes locked on Fury. "We're doing this our way."

"It's too dangerous otherwise," Fury continued. "It'll weaken the team."

"Again, Director, I don't care and I'm afraid I have to disagree. This isn't for you to decide. Public be damned, this is about our child, not publicity or security. And you know as well as I do, this won't weaken the team. It's a baby, not a pulled hamstring or a broken shield."

Fury sighed. "I'm only concerned."

Darcy choked out a laugh. "Yeah, about the agency. You don't care about this beyond what it will do for SHIELD."

"I can't allow you to take this outside."

"We're not asking for permission," Steve said, his voice like steel.

Fury raised an eyebrow in aggravation. "We've reached an impasse."

"We really haven't, sir," Steve answered. "Darcy and I are doing this on our terms. Period. This is a family concern, and I'll thank you to respect that."

"I can't allow you to continue on in this agency with this level of insubordination."

Steve laughed. "Fine."

Fury lost his composure for the first time. "I thought your country meant more to you than that, Captain."

"My country means the world to me," Steve agreed. "But SHIELD doesn't. Not if this is how you are going to treat me and the mother of my child—you've made it clear you don't care about the child itself. I fight because I want to. I've always wanted to and I always will. But I don't have to be here to do that. I'll defend this nation because it's the right thing to do, and if you tell me right now that you'd turn me away from a crisis, you're a liar.

"You need me. You need Stark. You need Bruce and Thor. We don't need you," he finished.

Fury glared. "Stark was supposed to be the difficult one, Captain. I have to say, I'm disappointed."

"So am I."

Sometimes, Steve didn't even recognize the country he fought for, had nearly died fighting for, that his friends _had_ died for. Every day, the difference in this country amazed him, often in a good way. But this, this difference, it shamed him.

What had happened? How did people become so uncaring and clinical? Where had compassion gone?

Maybe he was just being as naïve as everyone accused him of being. Maybe it had been like this forever, but he was wearing rose tinted glasses. Perhaps his joy over the serum's success had blinded him to the reality of the world around him.

Fury sighed but his hard expression didn't change. "This isn't behavior befitting a man of your station."

"This is the behavior of a man protecting his family," he said, standing. Darcy glanced at him quickly and stood as well, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Fury her best glare. Steve's thought hers was much more impressive. "If that isn't befitting of a man of my station, I guess I'll be forced to resign."

Fury went very still and the tension in the room grew until Darcy suddenly laughed. She tipped in her chair and scooped up her purse, dropping it into her lap. "I don't care what the circumstances, men are all the same. It doesn't matter if you're in the sandbox or the head of a super-secret agency; you're all sore losers."

Steve let out an amused hum and felt a bashful flush crawl up the back of his neck. She was absolutely right—he remembered losing to Tony at Wii bowling all too well. So did their coffee table.

He shook his head and rose from the chair. He held out a hand to help Darcy from hers and looked to Fury one last time. "We'll be at the Tower, preparing for the birth of our child. Call us when you're ready to apologize."

He moved toward the door, Darcy just a step behind, and Fury sputtered in rage. Steve felt Darcy pause and look back. He stopped in the door way and watched as Darcy stared down the Director of SHIELD and felt a swell of affection for such a strong woman.

Finally, Steve had enough of his incoherent sputtering and curses and shook his head definitively.  
"That'll be enough, Director Fury," he said, voice cool.

The irate man closed his mouth and fixed them with an icy stare. Darcy raised an eyebrow defiantly. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Cap got your tongue?"

A barking laugh left his lips before he realized it and he gently took Darcy's arm and hustled them out of the building before Fury decided to declare them a terrorist cell just to keep them locked in SHIELD. They were still giggling as they emerged onto the street but he noticed Darcy's took on a bit of a hysterical note.

He spun her so that they were facing and sobered up. "Are you all right?" he asked seriously.

She gave another manic giggle and rubbed a hand down her face. "We just sassed the Director of SHIELD and got away with it," she explained. "I think I'm in shock."

He gave her a rueful smile and shrugged his shoulders. She giggled again and he led her to a Starbucks across the street, sitting her down and getting her a decaf tea, no cream or sugar.

"Sorry," she hiccuped. "God, I was so worried, but you just swept in there and told him to fuck right off."

Well, Steve supposed that was one way to look at it. "Um, I guess," he replied. "I…hope I wasn't out of line. If I spoke for you, or—"

"No no," Darcy interrupted. "It was great. Never thought I'd get the last word with the world's most furious director."

Steve nodded in agreement and took a sip of his latte. He looked at Darcy as she brushed back her dark hair and blew across the top of her tea to cool it. A comfortable silence fell between them and Steve picked at the sleeve around his drink. Darcy looked at him for a long moment, the corners of her lips quirking upward slightly.

"Tell me if I do something wrong," he said suddenly. "Please."

He watched as Darcy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Steve, what're you—you haven't—"

"But if I do," he pleaded. "I don't…always get things right away. I don't want to mess things up just because I was too oblivious to notice that you needed help, or that you needed space, or raspberries instead of blueberries."

Darcy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You ready the Daddy chapters in that book Jane sent, didn't you?" she accused.

"N—yes," he admitted.

"You know that book was a joke, right?" she pressed. "Jane sent it as a joke. It was called _The Naked Mother_ and told me I needed to give birth _outside_ —and eat the placenta! It even had _recipes._ "

"I—that's not why asked," he stuttered. "I just…we kind of only get one shot at this. I can't redo something if I mess up, so you have to tell me if I don't get it."

Darcy reached over and took his hand and Steve could feel warmth blossom on the back of his neck. "You're doing fine. Great, actually."

He looked at her skeptically. "It's been two weeks, and most of that time I was hiding from you."

"Okay, true," she said. "But do you seriously think I won't tell you off if you mess up?"

Steve chuckled. "I guess."

"You're not the only one that can do things wrong, you know," Darcy said. "I can mess this up just as much as you. More than you! I have to actually incubate this puppy."

They were interrupted by a cell phone beep, alerting Darcy to take another dose of prenatal vitamins. Upon returning to Bruce's office, the kind doctor gave Darcy a complex cocktail of prenatal medication to take to aid the growth of a normal child along with a few precautionary ones in case their baby _was_ affected by the super serum.

Bruce had explained the function of each supplement, but Steve was too weak from the news that there didn't appear to be any evidence of ill affects compliments of the serum to fully comprehend his spiel.

Now, Darcy dutifully swallowed the medication and Steve couldn't help but grin. He gestured to the pill case she pulled from her purse. "I think you're doing great so far."

"I should have been taking those a while before I did."

"And Bruce said everything was fine," he assured.

"Maybe that's what we have the serum to thank for," Darcy mused. "Super strong baby growth. Resistant to confused-mom screw ups."

Steve frowned. Darcy put herself down far too often for his liking, but nothing he's ever said during the time they have known each other has made her stop. He hoped she grew more confident as the pregnancy progressed; as a mother and a person. No one as beautiful and strong as her should participate in so much self-denigration.

"I guess we'll find out," he said.

The silence grew between them again before Darcy looked at him, a wicked sparkle in her eye. "So," she began. "How long do you think it'll be before Fury begs you to come back?"

* * *

Darcy grunted as she struggled to stay upright. Her tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth as she valiantly fought to stay balanced on her palms and heels in a deceptively complicated downward facing dog.

She had taken Bruce's advice to heart and looked into stress relieving techniques for pregnant woman and stumbled across websites, books, DVDs, YouTube clips, and a million other media outlets advocating yoga for pregnant women—prenatal yoga, apparently. Prenatal was quickly becoming the adjective of her life.

Darcy figured this was killing two birds with one stone; helping her to relax while also providing her with some pregnancy-friendly exercise. Done and done.

Only it wasn't working out like she'd planned. Yoga was actually _really hard_. She grunted and stumbled and wobbled her way through the motions, only on day three of her new regiment. Apparently it would get easier with time, but she was going to get larger with time, so she doubted it.

Still, it gave her something to concentrate on other than the imminent birth of her future spawn. Her little creature.

Darcy was feeling much less nervous since Dr. Banner had given her the okay (for now) and had started to look into her pregnancy with a bit more excitement. She knew that just because things were okay at the moment didn't mean they would be months from now, maybe not even next week, but it was a wonderful temporary relief. Add to that the absolute verbal smack down Steve laid on Director Fury and she felt like she was floating on air this week after the turmoil of the prior week faded to the background.

She wobbled as she switched to the cow pose, palms and knees to the floor. She held it for three breaths and arched her back into cat pose, feeling the tension in her back abruptly snap as she whooshed out a sigh of relief. Okay, maybe this yoga thing was worth it.

Darcy listened to the woman on the DVD slowly coach her through the rest of the poses and finished her morning routine with a smile. She quickly got dressed and hurried to the kitchen.

She had discovered, almost immediately, that her prenatal vitamins made her nauseated. Really, really nauseated. She had been worried, because she would take them only for them to make a comeback moments later.

Bruce had chuckled and told her to take them with food and she hadn't had a problem since, as long as you didn't count her bruised ego for not spotting such an obvious solution. Now, she took them with her breakfast and lunch and didn't have a problem.

Other than that little snafu, the infamous morning sickness had not made an appearance as of yet. She didn't want to jinx herself by saying so out loud but she was privately rejoicing—and also cackling—at the fact that she knew her mother had suffered from it terribly. Preemptive karmic retribution, perhaps?

She pushed her way into the kitchen and sat at the table, reaching for the other book Jane had sent her—this one was actually useful.

Darcy wasn't proud of the fact that she had waited until her best friend was on a month long research expedition to upstate New York to tell her she was pregnant. Over Skype.

It wasn't that she didn't love or trust or adore Jane enough to tell her in person; that was the exact reason she couldn't bear to do it in person. She loved Dr. Jane Foster with all her heart. She was her soul sister and best friend and heterosexual life partner forever and ever. Finding an alien god together tends to create strong bonds of friendship.

Jane was so smart, so collected, to together—and Darcy was an unwed future-mother with a random degree and that chased super overgrown children and no real life plan.

She had been embarrassed. They had talked so much smack about the dumb girls that ended up in Darcy's place. They had lamented over people's obsession with trying to force a lifestyle on them they didn't want or understand, just because they were women. And here she was; knocked up before the ripe old age of twenty-five.

In the end, she had connected the Skype call and stared at Jane silently until bursting into tears and holding the ultrasound image at the webcam. Jane had peered at it in confusion for a moment before wising up and staring at the picture Darcy made; weeping at a computer screen, hair in a ridiculous bun on top of her head, forlornly munching on peanuts.

"Oh my God," she said. "Darcy, is it Steve?"

"What?!" Darcy replied. "'Is it Steve'? That's what you have to say?"

Jane's face softened. "Darce," she whispered, voice filled with the unsaid.

Darcy burst into tears again and just nodded while Jane cooed at her from miles and miles away. "Why did you wait to tell me _now_?" she lamented. "I never would have taken this research position!"

"Then I'm glad I waited," Darcy replied. "I know you've been looking forward to this."

"There are more important things, Darcy. You're one of them." She looked at her friend, eyes sad and insightful. "Did you talk to your mom?"

Darcy chuckled tearfully. "Yup."

Jane frowned. "Wanna save that conversation for when I come home?"

"Yeah."

There was a pause as Darcy blew her nose and dabbed at her eyes. She munched on another pinch of nuts. Jane looked at her in confusion. "Why are you eating peanuts? You hate them."

Darcy whimpered and held up her carefully portioned protein source. "They're good for the baby!" she groused. "Jane, what the hell am I going to eat? This is going to suck so much. I can barely feed myself, how am I supposed to feed an infant. A pre-infant. A prinfant."

Jane just laughed and clicked away on her end of the Skype call. "You'll figure it out," she said. "Now tell me everything. You owe me, Lewis."

And it would actually be Jane that would figure it out, sending her an array of terrifying au natural pregnancy books, as well as some that proved to be a great help. Darcy thumbed through the pregnancy cookbook Jane had sent as her stomach rumbled impatiently. It was filled with recipes for all her favorites; tacos and chili and fried chicken, all pregnancy approved.

She tapped the page for a southwest breakfast burrito and puttered around the kitchen, idly munching on green olives straight from the jar. They were cold and salty and the pimento was delicious and juicy and this was her third jar in as many days. She hummed in contentment as she poked at the contents of the skillet.

Tony walked in as she was inexpertly wrapping up her bulging breakfast burrito. He smirked at the sight of her gobbling olives and fumbling with her food but Darcy tossed an olive at his head before he had the opportunity to open his mouth.

"Silencio, Stark," she commanded.

He pouted but wisely kept his mouth shut, maneuvering around her to get to his life source—coffee. Darcy sat down happily and browsed through the recipe book, already looking forward to lunch as she settled at the table.

Before she had taken three bites of her burrito her nose wrinkled at the smell of Tony heating up something in the microwave. "What is that?" she forced out, stomach roiling dangerously.

Tony hummed and looked at her over his shoulder. "Leftover's from last night. I'm a dinner for breakfast kind of guy."

Darcy put a hand over her mouth. "But what _is_ it?"

Tony looked at her, perplexed. "Salisbury steak."

Darcy pressed her hand firmly over her mouth, muffling the desperate gulping noise she made as she rushed to the bathroom, slamming the door open and crashing to her knees in front of the toilet. She lost what little of her breakfast she managed before Tony starting heating his and tried to hold back her hair.

She jumped when she felt fingers brush against her neck as her hair was pulled away. From the corner of her eyes she could see a single red curl—Natasha. Of course the spy duo had to come back _right now_. Natasha just gently pet her hair back from her face, crouching over her hunched form easily.

Darcy spat the acrid taste of bile from her mouth and flushed. "Sorry," she rasped. "Gross."

Natasha just hummed neutrally and filled a cup from the tap and passed it to her. She rinsed her mouth and let the other woman help her from her prone position on the floor, pressing her back onto the closed toilet lid and rustling under the sink until she reemerged with mouthwash.

Darcy flashed her a grateful smile and gargled eagerly. She was right—she'd spoken too soon. Morning sickness might be a no go, but ultra-sensitive nose and delicate constitution? Check and check.

She took a deep breath and gathered her wits about her. Natasha was looking at her steadily but the look of disapproval Darcy had been certain would grace her features when she found out Darcy was up the duff was absent. Instead, her face was open and curious, head tilted in observation.

"So," Darcy said, an embarrassed grin on her face. She clapped a hand on her stomach. "I'm pregnant."

Natasha leaned against the wall, expression unidentifiable.

"I found out that day you came to my room. I'd just taken a test," she explained softly.

"How far along?"

Darcy let out a deep breath. "Eight weeks. Almost nine." Her expression didn't change. "It's Steve's."

At this, Natasha lips twitched in a smile, eyebrows rising to her hairline. The red haired woman bit her lip to stifle her laughter. Darcy just sniggered wildly. "I know, right?"

Natasha opened her mouth but was interrupted by the sound of Darcy's stomach, once again protesting its empty state. The spy gave her an indulgent look. It was terrifying. "Food," she said firmly. "We will talk later."

Darcy nodded and slipped out of the bathroom as quick as she was able. Natasha strode down the hall, presumably to change as Darcy just now noticed she was in her mission leathers. Darcy stepped into the kitchen hesitantly but found no evidence of the rank stench of Salisbury steak.

The fan over the stove was on, as well as the overhead, and the air felt thick with the amount of lavender Lysol Tony had sprayed in her absence. His shirt was pulled over his nose as he sprayed the far side of the kitchen, a paper towel draped over her food. The thought that Tony took such precautions kind of touched her a little.

Damn hormones.

He turned and jumped when he saw her. He gave the Lysol on quick spray. "Natasha's home," he announced, popping his face out of his shirt.

"Thanks for the warning," she drawled, taking her place at the table again.

Tony sat next to her, clutching his cups and looking at her sadly. "No steak?" he asked miserably.

"Not of the Salisbury variety," she said. "Not for me. You; feel free. Far away from me. Far, far away."

Tony just pouted and shook his head, rising from his chair slowly. He opened the fridge and tossed the leftovers in the trash. He erased a white board and wrote _SALISBURY STEAK_ in big letters. Above it he wrote _Things That Make Darcy Sick_.

Darcy shook her head and swallowed her giant mouthful hurriedly. "You guys don't have to—"

"We're not going to make things that make you sick, or make you eat somewhere else." He returned to his seat next to her, picking a cheese Danish apart. "Bruce would never let that fly," he grumbled.

Darcy took a long sip of her juice. "Well, you can tell _Bruce_ ," she stressed pointedly. "Thank you. And you can also tell him his office walls are made of glass, so when the pregnant woman he's monitoring comes in for her _scheduled_ meeting at three o'clock, he knows to get rid of the guy he's making out with that looks an awful lot like this engineer we all know."

Tony's face blanked in shock. Darcy smiled wickedly, tossing her napkin on her empty plate. She stood and moved to the sink to clear up her breakfast mess. Tony finally stood and rocketed up behind her.

"Don't tell Thor," he said seriously, which was weird. Really weird. Thor, of all people? Seriously?

"Why not _Thor_?"

"Because he'll be so smug," Tony explained. "He's been conspiring with Pepper to get us together."

"Once again, why not Thor?" she asked. "You _are_ together. Or are you _actually_ as big of a dick as half of the world thinks and stringing Bruce along? I saw Bruce's eyes. Those were smitten eyes."

Tony scowled at her. "Of course we're together!" he hissed. "But if they know, they'll try to make us do things! Go to parties and meetings as a couple and other soul-crushing things! Nothing makes a relationship lose its sparkle like parading around in front of a bunch of academic and company dignitaries!"

"Whatever," Darcy dismissed. "One more time; why not Thor? What about Pepper?"

"Well, of course don't tell Pepper, but when do you see her to tell her? She's in a plane more than on the ground. Thor lives with us! Capisce?"

"Fine!" Darcy hissed back. "But then you better stop putting baby things in Steve's locker! It was funny until I had to explain to him what a breast pump was, then it was just awkward."

Tony had the good grace to look sheepish. "Not my best work," he admitted. "I did it on a caffeine high."

"Well don't do it again!" she demanded. "And I won't rat you out to Pepper and Thor." She paused in confusion. "Why are Pepper and Thor working together?"

"God knows," Tony groaned. "But it's ruining my life."

Before Darcy could investigate further, Natasha appeared in the kitchen. Tony chirped a greeting before darting off, presumably to tell Bruce they had been compromised. Natasha ignored him in favor of staring at Darcy intently, making her want to curl into a little ball and roll away.

The red haired woman sat down, gesturing for Darcy to sit with her. "Do you…want something to eat?" Darcy asked. "I could make you something. I can't imagine spy food is all that great if the mission requires you to leave at the drop of a hat and be incommunicado."

"I'm fine," she replied. "Sit."

Darcy could feel the period there. No question marks for Natasha. Darcy snagged a water bottle from the counter and sat across from her. "So," she began.

Natasha's mouth quirked up in a tiny smile. "So," she parroted. "Who else knows?"

Darcy sighed. "Steve, obviously. Tony, Bruce, um, Fury."

Natasha arched an elegant eyebrow. "Fury?"

"Yeah. It went about as well as you think."

Natasha chuckled. "It went better than I would think; you're still here."

"Opposed to, what? Dead?" Darcy asked tensely.

The other woman shrugged. "Among other things."

Darcy scrubbed a hand over her face. "Well, I guess that's one way to look at it. But yeah, Fury, and now you."

Natasha frowned. "Your mother?"

Darcy lips thinned anxiously. "She knows. She won't be involved," she replied shortly.

Natasha's face softened and she reached across the table, patting Darcy's hand once, twice, three times in quick succession. "Things have a way of working out."

Darcy looked at the super spy in disbelief. Optimism, really? She never pegged Natasha as the sentimental type. "If you say so," she said skeptically. "But as of now? She's not involved. And not welcome."

"I wasn't talking about your mother," Natasha clarified. Not. But whatever, Darcy wasn't in the mood to talk about this shit. Shit. Shit shit _shit_!

Darcy just made a noncommittal sound and messed with the cap of her water bottle. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked, drawing the words out.

"Whatever you want to talk about," Natasha offered. "You've been in a houseful of men for weeks and Jane is away."

Darcy bit her lip and looked at her…friend? Co-worker? Frenemy? Whatever. She gave her the side-eye. "Have you ever been…?" she trailed off significantly.

Natasha chuckled, low and sultry, and Darcy wanted to punch her in her gorgeous head again. "No," she replied. "I have not been pregnant."

"Do you…want to be?"

Natasha smile grew a little sad. "I think so. I'd like to be a mother."

And well, didn't that make Darcy feel like crap. Here she was, losing her mind and sick to her stomach over the thought of being responsible for an actual, real human life, and there were people around her that genuinely wanted it.

"I was married once, you know."

Today was a day for surprises, apparently. Her shock must have shown on her face.

"Yes, I was married, and it wasn't for a mission. It was supposed to be a secret, but things rarely stay that way."

"What happened?" Darcy asked.

"I met him while I was on a mission, quite a few years ago. I had to go to Germany for an extended period of time."

"Deep cover."

"Very deep. I was trying to be placed on a research project suspected to be source of some very dangerous chemical bombs. Not only did they devastate the area in which they were detonated, but they also had a biological component, spreading illness as well."

"Heavy," Darcy replied. That was some scary shit. Sometimes she forgot that the things you didn't see, things that _didn't_ go bump in the night, were scarier the biggest Doombot or mutant animal rampage.

Darcy looked for a way to break the tension. "Did you fall in love with an evil scientist?" she asked slyly.

Natasha chuckled. "No—a teacher. Jan. He taught history at a local university. After six months of dating, he asked me to marry him. I said yes.

"We went to the courthouse and were married that day. I stayed with him a little over a year. We had started talking about beginning a family. And then my cover was blown."

"What happened?" Darcy asked, riveted. She had a feeling this story didn't end well.

"Things went bad. I never look for the reason, just how to get what I need and get out. This time was different, because I had something to lose. I had learned they had rigged the university where Jan taught to explode.

"It had nothing to do with our relationship. A university is filled with people; test subjects. But I was unable to stop them in time, despite getting the plans and destroying most of their research. Miraculously, Jan made it out without a scratch and did not appear to show signs of illness.

"I didn't even bother reporting. I went right to the hospital to find him and spent hours waiting for the lists of names of casualties to come out. I finally found him at a hospital across the city where the uninjured had been taken to be tested for side effects. I didn't bother with a cab and began my way to the hospital, but Fury intercepted me first."

"Fury," Darcy spat. "Did he make you leave? Did he tell you it wasn't good for the agency?"

Natasha looked surprised by her vitriol. "No," she said, confused. "Is that what he said to you?"

Darcy shook her head, feeling bitter. "Nevermind. You were saying?"

"Fury found me," she repeated. "I was a mess. I had never been that way before. He thought I was hurt but when all I could talk about was Jan, he realized what had happened and what I had done. He took me to the hospital and waited while I found Jan. After making sure he was fine I told him I had to go to the police station to talk to the authorities, since I was on the research team. Instead I went with Fury to one of our international offices for the debriefing.

"I have no idea what I said to the agents questioning me. I don't remember anything about that night except how worried I was for Jan… and I realized I had to let him go. My life was too dangerous for him, and I was too far in to get out. I would destroy him, my gentle historian. It was a dream. It was a dream to think that I could have this life, and it was time to wake up.

"I found Fury and confessed what I had done and told him what I needed to do. I needed to disappear. Forever. I needed for him to never look for me, or wait, or wonder. I needed to die. That very morning, agents were sent to our home and he was told I had died from complications due to chemical exposure in the lab when I was trying to sabotage the rogue scientists' work. He was told he could not see my body because it was under quarantine. He was given a casket filled with ballistics gel to bury.

"I made sure he was taken care of. He inherited my 'life insurance policy' and still hasn't remarried. I miss him every day, but I know I made the right choice. Perhaps if we had met at a different time we could have been. I had never wanted to be a mother until I met him, and now I don't know if I ever will be."

"That just sucks," Darcy said haltingly.

Natasha just nodded and focused her laser sharp gaze on Darcy again. "Did Fury say those things to you when he found out you were pregnant?"

Darcy let out a long breath. "That iiiis not important," she said awkwardly. "Let's not talk about that. Let's talk more about your feelings."

Because seriously, the news that Natasha had feelings like _this_ was seriously news to her. Not that she thought the red headed woman was an automaton or a robot, but this was something she never expected from Natasha—vulnerability. Weakness. Spontaneity. Capitol W-O-W _._

Natasha sighed. "We should actually talk about Clint's feelings."

"I don't actually know if I can handle more feelings," Darcy said honestly. "I already have a lot of them, and then you told me a story that just stomped all over my heart."

"I'll be brief," she said in amusement. Her face abruptly sobered. "Clint used to have a daughter."

Darcy shook her head in confusion. "Used to? Where did she…oh. Oh man."

"Yes," Natasha confirmed. "She was a by-product of a cover. One of the marks he had to get closer to was sloppy with her contraceptives and Anna was born. Then she was caught in the crossfire of her mother's drug cartel and a rival. Clint couldn't see her often, but he watched her as best he could and made sure she was provided for. The mother only kept her around for a get out of jail free card. After Anna died, well, I'm sure you can imagine."

Actually, Darcy wasn't sure she could imagine. Spies were very…creative. She simply nodded and tried to keep from yawning. It wasn't even noon and she had already exhausted, thanks to her Salisbury steak reaction and all these damn emotions.

"I just wanted to warn you, in case he's distant."

"Thanks for the heads up," Darcy replied. "I never would have guessed."

"No," Natasha replied. "You wouldn't. It was supposed to be that way."

Darcy let out a long breath. "Well, I'm absolutely exhausted now. I think I'll take a bath. Um, you don't have to keep this a secret," she said. "Um, if you see Clint…".

"I will tell him," Natasha said. "It might be better that way."

"Right," Darcy replied. "Well, glad you made it home."

Darcy risked it and patted Natasha on the shoulder as she passed. Instead of a broken wrist she got a soft smile and watched as the red haired spy pulled the pregnant cookbook toward her to flip through.

Her mid whirled as she made her way to her room, filled with the unexpected history of her favorite spy twins, and most often, Clint's deceased daughter. She had no idea how to play this. She wasn't known for being sympathetic, or empathetic, or whatever. She was the one with the probably-inappropriatly-timed joke and awkward laugh.

She pushed open the door to her room and ended up collapsing across her bed, rather than running a bath. She fumbled for her phone and sent out a quick text to Steve, letting him know that Natasha and Clint were back. Tread lightly.

She got back a quick _OKAY_ and laughed. Steve never sent a text with lowercase letters. Darcy sighed and gave in, settling in for a twenty minute catnap before taking a bath and going out in search of organic groceries.

Tony protested, not even wanting those he associated with doing such plebian tasks as grocery shopping, but Darcy resisted. She needed the time alone. She liked doing research on little shops versus big ones and doing some legwork, especially since she had heard absolutely nothing from SHIELD and had strangely well-behaved superheroes for the first time since taking the job.

She set her phone alarm and settled down, unable to stop picturing a little girl with Clint's eyes laying on the ground, unnaturally still. Oh boy. It was going to be one of those days.

* * *

Darcy struggled with an armful of paper bags. Her grocery shopping had gotten a little out of hand and now she had more organic food than she knew what to do with. Plastic bags dangled from her arms, impeding her movement further, and she could feel the paper bags slipping from her grasp.

As she was about to lose hundreds of dollars of all-natural produce, the bags were abruptly lifted from her arms and deposited on the counter. "Darcy!" Thor boomed. "Why did you not call for help?"

"Oh, sorry, Thor. I didn't realize anyone was around."

The blond man beamed at her and continued to relieve her of her burden. "I just returned," he explained.

Darcy nodded. "How was the mission?" she asked, knowing Thor would be more likely to discuss such things with her than either of the SHIELD operatives; mostly because Thor was of the mind that his comrades would never betray him—a feat after the fiasco with his brother. She wished she had his ability to trust.

"Most exciting," he replied. It probably was fraught with danger and terrifying, but the Thor was a god, he hunted monsters for fun. "We were successful in our mission and there were no injuries. A victory, all around."

"Good," said Darcy. "Glad to hear it."

She was distracted for a moment as Steve walked into the kitchen. He grinned at her and moved forward to help unload the groceries and put them away. "I didn't hear you get back," he said.

Thor chuckled. "She _was_ quiet. I merely saw her struggle from the elevator."

Darcy rolled her eyes and leaned her forearms against the marble island and watched the world's strongest defenders putting away groceries. Thor picked up the 4 boxes of Pop-Tarts she had bought for him and gave her a wide smile. "Thank you."

She smiled back. "I saw Natasha earlier, so I knew you guys were back. Tony depleted your stash in less than three days, so."

Darcy waited until they had finished before coming around the counter and taking out a large mixing bowl. She already had the recipe for pregnancy-friendly breakfast muffins memorized and was in the mood for cranberries.

"Muffins?" she asked, and the two blonds nodded enthusiastically before taking a seat at the table. Darcy grinned and grabbed both muffins pans, cheerfully clattering around the kitchen, sprits light.

She could hear Steve and Thor's quiet chatter behind her, the god regaling Steve with some kind of fight that had taken place while they were MIA. She turned and looked back at them and her face fell as Thor pulled the cookbook on the table closer to him, squinting at the cover.

The cover of the book entitled _Yummy Mummy: Cookbook for the Pregnant Foodie_.

Fuck.

Steve continued talking, unaware of Darcy's panic. Unlike Steve, Darcy left things all over the place. While Steve would have picked that book up after he was done using it and put it on the small bookshelf in the kitchen for cooking tomes, Darcy did not. Neither did Natasha, apparently, as she had been the last one to look through it.

Thor looked up and gave them both a scrutinizing look. He held the book up, cover finally visible. "Is someone having a child?" he asked slowly.

Steve finally cottoned on and looked to Darcy in alarm. She abandoned sifting dry ingredients and moved leaned against the island again, grateful for the barrier between them.

"Yes," she said simply. "I am. Uh, we are," she corrected, looking to Steve.

"Captain?" Thor asked, looking to him for confirmation. Darcy could swear his voice held a hint of amusement.

Steve nodded. "Yes," he answered. "Darcy and I are expecting."

There was a beat before Thor grinned at them, eyes sparkling. "Congratulations!" he said warmly. "I wasn't aware you were trying to have a family."

The fact that he said this without a hint of condemnation made Darcy brave. "We weren't," she admitted.

Thor simply smiled back and forth between them. "A happy accident then."

"Yes," she replied, surprising herself.

"And when will the little one arrive?"

Darcy swore he almost sounded excited. She narrowed her eyes in contemplation as Steve replied. She tried to think back to her mythology. Did Thor have kids? Would those stories be true?

"Not for a while yet," Steve said.

"Mmm," Darcy agreed. "Seven months or so."

"Plenty of time to prepare!"

Darcy just smiled. She hoped so. Suddenly, Steve jumped up. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "I forgot. We got a package while you were out."

Darcy just looked at him. "We? Us, we?" she asked, gesturing between herself and Steve.

"Yeah," he replied, ducking into the living room for a moment before returning with rectangular box. "Wanna open it?"

"Who's it from?"

Steve shrugged. "No name."

Darcy bit her lip. "I'll let you open it. You two are mostly indestructible."

Thor chuckled and nodded in acknowledgment, flipping open her cookbook as Steve pulled a penknife from his pocket and slitting the tape. He cautiously pushed back the flaps and rustled with the tissue paper covering whatever was inside.

Darcy inched forward cautiously and peered into the flat box. Inside appeared to be a blanket in a deep, inky black. She reached forward and her fingers encountered soft, plush material. She hummed in appreciation and pulled out the fabric, finding it to be some kind of sling, rather than a blanket. Underneath was a plain white card with two words written in a tight, industrious scrawl.

_My apologies._

"Fury," Darcy murmured. She nudged Steve. "Well, you won the bet. I said he'd wait at least two weeks."

Steve nodded and gave a soft chuckle, lifting the card from the box to flip it over. There was nothing on the back, and Darcy had to roll her eyes. Putting your name on a card was for pedestrians, apparently. Fury was above all that.

Darcy focused her attention on the sling thing once more. "What is it?"

Steve bit his lips and shrugged, pulling the fabric to and fro.

"For your child," Thor supplied.

"Well, _yeah_ , but what does it do? What's it for?"

Thor smiled and took the fabric from their hands. He set it to rights and draped it over Darcy's head and across her body. He pulled open the pocket of fabric and patted inside. "To carry the child so you may have use of your arms. See?"

"Oh," Darcy replied, facepalming gently. "Duh. Right."

"They use these in Asgard?" Steve asked—valid question.

Thor nodded. "Oh yes. Mother's usually make them, or receive them as gifts, while the father's create a place for the child to sleep."

"Well, I hope you remember woodshop, Steve," Darcy deadpanned.

The pair of Avenger's laughed heartily and Darcy found herself grinning. She was glad Thor was able to get over the fact that she had tasered him, because he was a hoot to be around. Most guys she knew would have held a grudge against her until the day they died because she made them wet themselves via electrocution. Not Thor. Though, Darcy supposed, when someone lives thousands of years, one moment of weakness is easily forgotten.

Darcy fiddled with the sling. "Think he means it?" she asked, gesturing at the card.

Steve shrugged. "We'll find out."

Thor didn't pry, and for that they were both grateful, and he once again launched into his tale of heroics, featuring Spy One and Spy Two. Darcy took off the sling, fingers lingering on the deliciously soft fabric before turning back to her muffins.

She separated the batter into two bowls, one for cranberries and the other for blueberries— purely coincidental that they were Steve's favorite. Besides, who doesn't like blueberry muffins? She baked up the batch of mammoth muffins and listened to the two men share stories; Thor's from Asgard and Steve's from before he was frozen.

The blond god seemed fascinated by the stories of pre-serum Steve, and how he was so determined and mouthy, even when he was 90 pounds soaking wet. "You have always had the heart of a warrior, Captain," he would say, and Darcy had to agree.

She pulled the muffins from the oven and carefully set them on the oven, taking care not to burn herself. She popped them out of the tins and refilled them with the last of the batter and put a the kettle on for some decaf tea.

Darcy couldn't help but be relieved she hadn't run into Clint yet. Knowing his history with Anna made her feel terrible and awkward and she just knew that if she saw him now she'd try to hug him and make them both super uncomfortable and quite frankly, this was about him, not her.

Sure, she was pregnant and had to deal with all the emotions and ramifications thereof, but she hadn't lost a child that she had loved. She needed to think on how she was going to play this, and she had a feeling Clint did too—hence his curious absence.

The kettle shrieked, pulling her from her reverie, and she quickly moved to open the spout and cease the high-pitched sound. She filled her mug and set the teabag inside, mashing it impatiently with a spoon until she felt it was the correct color. She added a dash of milk and sugar and sipped it happily, waiting for the final batch of muffins to be done.

She moved to begin the dishes but Steve intercepted her. "I'll do this," he said.

Oh, I can—"

"I know," he interrupted. "But you made them. Fair's fair."

"Thanks," she replied, heart skipping a beat. She mentally chided herself for being affected by Steve offering to wash the _dishes_ , for God's sake. What the _hell_? Her mental chastisement was derailed by the oven timer going off and she hustled to take the muffins out of the over and away from the appealing sight of Steve's sleeve unbuttoned and rolled up to his elbows.

She snagged one of the cooled muffins and placed it on a plate with her tea and turned to find Thor looking at her intently. He looked toward Steve, giving him the same level of intensity and oh _God_ , she totally understood Tony's trepidation about Thor. She needed to get out of there before he said whatever the hell he was thinking, because chances were that it was going to be earth shattering and insightful and stir up so many feelings that should wouldn't be able to cope, no matter how much yoga she did.

"I think I'll lie down for a while," she said, voice only slightly strangled. "Shopping really took it out of me."

Steve looked back over his shoulder and gave her a smile, nodded before going back to the dishes. Thor continued to scrutinize her as she walked out of the kitchen and hurried down the hall to her room.

She curled up on her chair and set her plate and mug on the table before running her fingers through her hair. Darcy stretched hugely before reaching for her tablet and messed around online for as long as she could reasonably justify before getting down to more serious business.

She checked her mail and hoped against hope that she would have a message from her mother, apologizing for a lifetime of bitchiness and declaring her excitement over her first, and probably only, grandkid.

No dice.

She got rid of the spam that inevitably made it into her inbox and looked over a few messages from old friends in college. She lingered over one message, from a girl she'd had classes with all four years of college. Kellie, married just over two years, was proud to announce the arrival of Joseph Andrew Hayes, her first child.

She stared at the message for a while, looking at the few pictures of her, her husband Michael, and their tiny little babelet. Her fingers itched to send a message, wanting to connect with someone that had been through what she was going through. Well, at least biologically. She was pretty sure little Joseph was planned.

Instead, she left the message in her inbox to contemplate and took care of the rest until she came to a message that made her heart pound. It was from one Ms. Pepper Potts, and the subject line read _Regarding SHIELD_.

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! That's all for this installment of the fic. I have to apologize for this taking such an ungodly amount of time. I know I said that things were going to move along more quickly, and they were at first, but there were unforeseen complications.
> 
> Long story short, I just graduated college in May. I was frantically searching for a job in my college town in order to stay after my lease had run out on my current apartment, but was largely unsuccessful. Sadly, I had to move home. With my parents. To my tiny, tiny beach town. That doesn't even have a coffee shop.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I love my home, but it was something I had never considered as a possibility and it's been a major adjustment. Honestly, I've been a bit depressed lately, feeling kind of useless and unmotivated, so everything's suffered. I'm feeling a bit better now, back on the creative train, and I hope to continue on as such.
> 
> I know, this was basically just a long, long excuse, but it's the only one I have. Sorry sorry! I hope you all enjoyed! As always, constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome! Thank you, my lovelies! I'm so glad to have you are readers. ^_^


	4. The Inevitable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, a huge thank you to every single lovely reader out there. You folks are amazing. The reviews on my last chapter really encouraged me, so thank you to everyone that sent an encouraging word.
> 
> Also, I am so very glad that the general opinion on my take on Clint and Natasha was very positive. I have all these feels, and I just want to make other people feel them. I seem to be getting better at including vital details of pregnancy, biological and otherwise. Huzzah! I worry so much, since this is an area in which I have no experience.
> 
> And sorry for the cliffhanger—I just couldn't resist! That, and if I didn't end it there, goodness knows when that chapter would have been posted, much like this one. I am so very sorry for the delay. Real life has been, well, stressful is too mild a word. It been hellish, and in between bouts of misfortune and angst, my desire and ability to write has been nonexistent. I do apologize.
> 
> Still, enjoy!

Darcy tried to calm the nervous fluttering in her chest. _In and out. In and out,_ she thought. No reason to panic, just a normal, not-even-remotely-routine email from what was possible the most powerful woman in the world. Just everyday stuff, you know.

She forced herself to click on the subject line, squeezing her eyes shut while she waited for the email to load. Finally, Darcy pried her eyes open to read whatever the intimidating Ms. Potts had to say.

_Miss Lewis,_

_Hello, Darcy. I hope you weren't actually online when you got this message. Tony has somehow made it so that it plays a jarring organ groan anytime someone in the Tower gets a message from me. Sorry if I frightened you._

_I'm writing to offer you a solution to the problem you had with Director Fury—Tony couldn't help but tell me. You are an invaluable asset to SHIELD, and they are idiots if they can't see that. I understand a bit of what you're going through. Working with Tony was difficult_ before _we dated, and more so afterward. I imagine your situation with SHIELD's favorite American hero complicates things just as much._

_I don't know the circumstances or details surrounding your involvement with Captain Rogers, and I won't pretend what I am about to propose isn't a largely selfish maneuver. I would like to offer you a position in STARK Industries. In some ways, this position will be identical to your position at SHIELD, except this position offers you security, stability, higher pay, less tension, and a bit more separation from a lovely, though deeply stressful bunch of people._

_Don't think you're getting off that easy, though—you'll still have to deal with Tony. Though you'd be primarily assisting me, I occasionally (always) need help with the slippery Mr. Stark, and due to proximity, I'll need you to help me with him._

_Attached is a more detailed outline of what I am offering and what your position with STARK Industries would entail. Please take time to consider my offer and contact me with any further questions concerning this arrangement. I look forward to your reply._

_Regards,_

_Pepper Potts  
CEO STARK Industries_

_P.S. Congratulations! Best wishes to you and Captain Rogers._

And wow. That was not what she was expecting. After meeting with Fury, she was almost expecting a demand for her to pack her things and get her unwed ass out of the majesty that was the Avengers Towers for what was surely to be questionable PR for a company that already had to deal with Tony Stark.

Instead, she was being offered a job. A real job, one with security, and a 401(k), and health insurance for her _and_ the egg she was incubating. A job that paid _double_ what she had made at SHIELD with nearly none of the risks and far more rewards. She would get a _car_ , for Christ's sake! Sure, a company car, but she'd get one!

And holidays! And sick days! And copies of things STARK Industries was going to put on the market. After all, it wouldn't do for someone working for STARK to be seen with an iPhone.

Truth be told, Darcy had mentally accepted Pepper's proposition the moment she realized what was on offer. Regardless of the details, she didn't want to work for SHIELD, not anymore. Not since she started carrying around another little life she had to think about. Okay, she usually did mundane, boring things for the Avengers. Chased them around and nagged them and played fetch, but there were the more dangerous aspects of working for a super secret agency that dealt with the dark, twisted places and things in the universe.

The fact that she was even considering this gave her pause. A few weeks ago Darcy relished the uncertainty of her job. She loved the running and the newness and the fun of never knowing what was going to happen next. She loved not having a routine. Now, barely two months into her pregnancy and her whole outlook on life had changed.

She still loved surprises, she loved fun, and laughing, and spontaneity. But unlike before, now she needed stability, and safety, and a job that ensured she would be around to see to the continued existence of the little spawnlet inside her—and that meant not running headlong into potentially dangerous, if not completely dangerous, situations.

Hey, the kid already had one parent that ran headfirst in danger. Like, literally ran into danger. Willingly. On purpose. The fact that Captain Rogers kicked ass and took names more often than he had his ass handed to him didn't mean that he was infallible or invincible, and God forbid he not come home one day. Then where would they be?

Screwed, that's where they'd be. Darcy trusted herself to keep this mini person alive, but she was pretty sure Steve was going to be the go-to parent for all the _actual_ parenting things. And she wasn't being hard on herself! Seriously, she was going to try her damndest to be the best damn mother that had ever existed. But what she was going to have to work at, Steve had naturally.

Darcy had seen him with puppies, and kittens, and yes, even the occasional child or two. He had the whole "support the head" thing down. He knew to hold them close, make sure they feel secure, speak to them softly, and had a smile that just made babies (and ovaries) light up.

The first time Darcy held a baby, she held her arms straight out in front of her and let the feet dangle. She'd only been twelve, but the damage was done. The cry of "Oh my _God_ , what is she _doing_?" stuck with her.

No, in order to be around to try her damndest at being an a-okay mother, she needed to take more care. If she wanted to be around, she needed security. She needed stability. She needed Pepper—the most put together woman on the planet. With any luck, hopefully some of her determination and organization would rub off on Darcy on her way to motherhood.

Darcy cracked her fingers before clicking _R_ _eply_.

* * *

News of Darcy's defection from SHIELD had gone over splendidly. She thinks. Tony had been legitimately happy, and it was a good thing her heart firmly rested with an emotionally unavailable, uninterested super soldier, because a real smile from Tony Stark was something to behold. The same could be said for Bruce, whose sheepish charm just _did_ things for her and wow, was this hormones or just the beginning of another long, angsty dry spell because even Thor's "fine decision for a womanin your condition" made her tingle instead of want to burst into righteous feminine fury.

Natasha just nodded in understanding, but Clint was still nowhere to be found. Darcy tried her hardest not to peer into any vents as she walked past, looking for a sign of the infamous archer. After story time with Natasha (Nat!), she had given him space. She couldn't even begin to imagine the pain of losing a child. Of losing _anyone_. Not having her mother around was hard enough, but at least Darcy she knew she was alive and well, if not completely filled with evil and poison.

The only person she had been unable to decipher had been Steve. She'd told him before she finally sent her final draft Pepper, in the interest of making baby-related decisions together. Because it _was_ a baby-related decision. If this email had come to her the week before she'd found out about her very own baby boom, she would have found a way to reject Pepper's more than generous offer.

Or delete it and pretend it never came. Or mark it as spam and pretend her email was faulty, even though Tony could see through that in a hot minute.

Steve had _looked_ relieved but was usually tight-lipped in response. When she'd word-vomited all the benefits of leaving SHIELD for her and the baby, he gave her a grin and simply said "Neat. You'll do great," before clamming up entirely. He nodded while she babbled and squeezed her shoulder on the way to the gym.

Then Darcy absolutely-the-opposite-of-stress-ate a pint of chocolate gelato and a jar of green olives while hiding in the rarely used laundry room so no one would judge her.

And speaking of food, the list Tony put on the fridge had grown quite a bit. Things that made Darcy sick now included: feta cheese, cheeseburgers, pizza, fried okra, fish, and just about every kind of pork. Despite this, her food choices were nowhere near limited. Apparently, this eating healthy thing was great for variety, even if she'd narrowed down her normal food choices by half. Also, Bruce's forays into the more rural areas of the world had made a serious culinary impression on him, and Darcy wasn't above using her condition to con him into cooking more often.

Despite the delicious food, mealtimes had been tense. Everyone danced around the subject of pregnancy and babies if Clint was in the room. Sometimes, people forgot and made an offhand comment and the air in the room went cold and tension sang through the air until someone (usually Tony) switched the subject.

To be fair, it wasn't like Clint had ever said anything to her, or done anything to make her feel uncomfortable, other than just _be_ there. Maybe his lips would thin, or he would stare off into space for a moment, and his jokes had taken a turn for the morbid. Other than mealtimes, Clint was never present in any of the common areas. He was always in the gym, or the shooting range, or SHIELD.

Darcy had briefly wondered if she should seek him out, talk it over like grownups. She'd quickly dismissed that as a bad idea. Who the hell was she kidding? She might legally be of age, but she was far from grown up—though she was quickly maturing, out of necessity. And Clint, well, he might be a super spy, but she knew that he was just as childish as Tony when he wasn't in a depressive funk.

Now, it was late, and she groaned as she made her way to the kitchen, where she'd left her bottle of acetaminophen. Now, at eleven weeks pregnant, more pregnancy symptoms were making themselves known. She'd started to get headaches, not bad, but dull and throbbing. She could tough it out without meds if it was just the headaches, but recently her back had started to ache and her already ample chest had reached critical mass.

She sighed in relief when she spotted the bottle and scooped it up, pausing only to count the number of hours it had been since her last dose to make sure she was in the clear. She was, by two hours, and gratefully shook out the correct dosage before turning to get a drink, only to find Clint, sitting on the counter, looking at her sadly while he poked his chopsticks into his lo mien listlessly.

"Hey," he said.

Darcy's throat clicked as she swallowed, suddenly, dry. "Hi."

"Do you need…?" he asked, pointing to the cabinets behind him.

She shook her head, movements jerky. "No, I'm just grabbing a bottle of water."

He nodded and went back to his Chinese food and Darcy tried not to let out the shaky breaths she was holding. She snagged a water bottle and twisted off the cap, gulping down the cool liquid and pills.

She leaned against the fridge, trying to convey nonchalance and resisting the urge to book it from the kitchen like her ass was on fire. She could play this cool.

"So, I'm guessing Natasha told you about Anna."

Nope, officially lost the ability to play it cool.

"Guessing?" she asked. Darcy wasn't going to believe Natasha tried to pull a fast one on her fellow agent.

Darcy saw a hint of real smile. "Okay, I know Natasha told you about Anna."

She nodded and hopped onto the counter opposite him. "She did."

"And I know that you've been going out of your way to give me space."

"I—" she began, starting to deny it. Clint silenced her with a look. "Okay, yeah. I have been giving you a bit of a wide berth."

He took a deep breath. "Thanks," he replied. "But you don't have to. Not anymore."

"I just…didn't want to make it hard for you. Harder for you. I have no idea what it's like to lose a child, but I'm beginning to understand, and I don't know how you do it. Just thinking about it…" she trailed off, voice thick.

"I know," Clint said, barely audible.

Darcy was quiet for a minute. "You know, I won't be offended if sometimes you just… need to get away. From me. If that isn't what you've been doing."

"I haven't been avoiding you," he supplied. "I've just…been thinking about Anna." He shrugged. "It's kind of a private thing. For me."

She nodded. "I understand."

They were silent for a minute before Clint leaned back against the cupboards and gave her a wicked smile. "So, you and the Cap?"

Darcy let out an amused huff. "Just the once," she said. "Somehow, I missed the "Super Soldier Super Sperm" in my safe sex lecture."

It had the intended affect and made Clint choke on his beef lo mien. "Wow," he said. "All right. Is that what happened?"

Darcy shrugged. "Who the hell knows?"

"But did you…you know?"

"Use a condom?" she asked dryly. "Yes, Doctor. Accidents happen. Apparently."

He nodded. "Yeah they do. That's how I got Anna." He smiled at her, eyes bright. "Best accident I've ever had."

She placed a hand on her stomach and just nodded. She hoped she would say the same.

* * *

She knew this was coming. How could it not? It was inevitable really, but why did it have to happen _now_ , of all times?

Darcy wanted to throw up. Here she was, sitting in her brand new OB/GYN's office for the very first time and she was doing it all by herself since some asshole had decided it was a good time to stir up shit in Central America, thus calling SHIELD into duty.

She'd been in her room when the call came in and she never would have known there was a problem if Steve hadn't stopped by to see her before he left—the downfall of not being a SHIELD employee. He was breathtaking in his uniform, almost painfully so, and he'd come to tell her of his departure with a grim pull in his lips and an unreadable look in his eyes.

"Be careful," she said lamely, wincing as it came out, but Steve just looked at her and nodded earnestly before squeezing her hand once and running off down the hall. She'd promptly gone into her room and hyperventilated for thirty seconds before getting a fucking grip and calming down.

_He does this all the time_ , she thought. _Nothing the team can't handle_. _Don't start the single mother montage just yet._

And that was three days ago.

Three days of nothing. No communication. No word. Nothing. Though nothing on the news could only be a good thing, right? It meant that it hadn't turned into such a clusterfuck that it was worth airtime. At least, nothing on the Loki-scale of fucked up.

So now she sat on what she assumed was a very expensive couch in what she _knew_ was a very expensive baby doctor's office. After stressing and debating and getting so desperate she was ready to close her eyes and point to a doctor at random, Pepper, who she had business lunches with while she was in town (business lunch!), stepped in a recommended the doctor her friend had used during her pregnancy.

Dr. Grim, while having an unfortunate name, came highly recommended and had been on her initial list of physicians to consider. Her office was lovely and bright, and Darcy wondered if she was trying to make up for the bad impression her name might give potential clients.

Darcy was currently the only woman in the office, and for that she was a bit grateful. She couldn't help but pick at her nails and bounce her leg uncontrollably. She wondered if Steve was thinking about the appointment. Or if he even knew what day it was. Or if he cared. Or if he was alive.

She jumped as the door opened and a middle-aged woman in yellow scrubs smiled at her from the doorway. "Miss Lewis?"

Darcy scrambled to her feet, knocking over the magazines artfully fanned out across the table in front of her. "Yup, yes. Sorry, that's me."

The nurse just kept smiling and stood aside so Darcy could pass. "I'm Debra," she said. "Follow me so we can get your weight and height and a few other vitals before the doctor sees you."

Darcy bit her lips and followed Debra down a tastefully decorated hallway until they reached one of the most high tech scales she'd ever seen. No metal clunkers for this office. She slipped off her shoes before standing on the raised platform. She winced as the number appeared, but the nurse tutted.

"None of that," she said. "Healthy babies means healthy weight gain."

Darcy sighed. "I know," she replied. "Still, I don't know a single woman that is happy by the number on that scale."

The nurse just chuckled. "Turn around," she bid. "Stand flat against the wall."

Darcy resisted the urge to stretch herself like she used to when she was a kid, always wanting to be just _that_ much taller than her friends and damn it, no matter what they said she was 5'6", not 5'5". She refused to accept that she had either shrunken an inch or been incorrectly measured for the duration of her high school years.

She was lead into a room and took a seat on the paper covered table. She tried not to panic at the sight of the stirrups. She was an adult. She was having a baby. She could handle this like the grown-ass woman she was.

Debra took her blood pressure and frowned when it was high. "Are you nervous, honey?"

"I'm two seconds away from hurling." Well, so much for being an adult. Debra just smiled and made a note on her clipboard before turning back to her.

"We'll wait until you've had time to calm down before we do another reading. Lots of first time moms get white coat syndrome when them come in, especially the first visit."

"White coat syndrome?"

Debra gave her a sly grin. "Elevated blood pressure in a clinical setting. It's very common."

"Oh," Darcy said on an exhale. "Yeah, definitely have that."

"Don't worry. Dr. Grim is very good."

"So I've heard."

Debra grinned at her (again) and stood up. "The doctor should be with you shortly."

And yeah, Darcy had heard that line before. She grabbed her phone and settled in for a wait so she was incredibly surprised when the doctor walked in less than three minutes later. She hurried to put away her cell phone (still no word from any of the Avengers) and sat up straight.

"Miss Lewis," she greeted. "Nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Grim."

"Darcy," she said. "Just Darcy."

Dr. Grim extended her hand for a shake. "Darcy," she corrected. She took a seat on a padded stool and looked over the chart the nurse had left for her. "So, eleven weeks, is that right?"

"Yes."

"And this is your first visit to an obstetrician?"

"Yeah," Darcy replied. "I saw my regular doctor, just to be sure, but this is my first time to an obstetrician."

"And you're sure your eleven weeks along?"

Darcy felt her lips thin. "Very."

Dr. Grim was unfazed. "Alrighty. Let's have a look at what's going on. Lay back and lift up your shirt. We'll see if we can find them this way. If not, we'll do an internal exam."

Darcy felt her heart rate pick up again as she lay back against the exam table, paper crinkling. She rucked up her shirt and pushed down the waistband of her skirt and mentally crossed her fingers that her little hitchhiker was big enough to be seen with the external detector thingy.

Dr. Grim folded a towel underneath the waistband of her skirt before squirting gel onto her stomach. Darcy flinched. "Sorry," she apologized. "I know it's cold. It'll warm up in a second."

Dr. Grim flicked a few switches and the machine hummed to life. She cupped the transducer in her hand for a moment before pressing it into the flesh of Darcy's abdomen. They sat in silence as Darcy's heart pounded while the physician searched for signs of the fetus. "Ah," she said finally. "There we are."

Darcy kept completely still, squinting at the screen. "That's really it?" she asked. "It's so small."

Dr. Grim nodded. "Yup, that's your baby."

"It's so little," she repeated. "I thought it would be bigger."

"About the size of a sugar packet," she said. Darcy chuckled and looked at the kind woman. "I like to give real life examples. I'd just say two inches, but everyone's two inches varies inside their head and I've yet to meet someone that whipped out a ruler to measure it."

Darcy chuckled breathlessly and focused on the screen again only to gasp. "What—did it?"

The obstetrician nodded. "Yup. Your little boy or girl just moved."

"I didn't even feel it."

"No," Dr. Grim said. "They're much too small for you to feel anything."

She watched as the fetus twitched again. "Ooh, my God," she eeked out, feeling boneless and week and she suddenly realized she was crying. Again. "Oh my God," she repeated.

The doctor handed her a tissue without looking away from the screen. Darcy imagined that this was a pretty common occurrence for an OB/GYN. "Well," she began. "Everything looks good to me, but let me see…" she trailed off, fiddled with the controls on the wand in her hand.

After a moment a gentle thumping came from the speakers. The heart. Her little alien's heart. She let out a shaky breath.

"And that's the heart," Dr. Grim said. "It sounds nice and steady, so no worries there—all normal. Do you have any questions?"

And Darcy's mind went blank. "I have a thousand," she said. "I just can't think of any right now." The harder she tried to think, the more questions eluded her. "God, I wish Steve was here," she muttered to herself. "He'd have a million questions, all written down."

Dr. Grim smiled. "Is that the Daddy?" she asked, and it should have been an intrusive question, but the way she said it sounded nonjudgmental.

"Yeah," she whispered, eyes still riveted on the screen.

"My husband is like that," she confided. "You'd think that as the obstetrician I would have been the organized one, but he was the one with the plan and the questions. Sometimes being a doctor works against you—you think you know everything."

"I don't know _anything_ ," she replied. "I don't even know how I am going to do this."

"We all have our own way," Dr. Grim replied. "I'm guessing you'd like a copy?" she asked, indicating the screen.

Darcy nodded quickly. "Um, two, if you don't mind."

Dr. Grim just nodded and reached into the cabinet for another DVD case. "Not a problem."

While the machine did its thing she handed Darcy a wet wipe and a towel to get rid of the gel on her stomach. She wiped the gel off her abdomen gratefully, sighing in relief when she could readjust her clothes. By the time she had set herself back to rights, Dr. Grim had finished burning two copies of the DVD and stacked them neatly on top of a little folder of information.

The doctor handed her the stack with a smile. "Just give this slip to Cierra at the desk on your way out. You can make another appointment with her before you leave. Normally, I'd say I'd like to see you at about 20 weeks, but I understand you have some concerns about your pregnancy in regards to the baby's development, yes?"

Darcy exhaled gustily. "Yeah, a few."

"Well, then why don't you come by again in about a month and we'll see if we can't put some of those fears to rest?"

"Sounds good to me."

Dr. Grim opened the door and walked out with her. "If you have any concerns, or feel like you need to come in sooner, give us a call and we'll fit you in as soon as we can."

Darcy nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Grim."

Cierra was another cheery, middle-aged woman. She was dressed in a soft green pair of scrubs and her big, blonde curls would be at home on a pageant queen. Darcy made an appoint just shy of four weeks in the future and idly wondered if Steve would be at _that_ appointment, or if this mission was a signal of another increase of freaky shit in the works.

As she rode the elevator down from the swanky business building she juggled her folder of baby information and shot Pepper a quick text telling her she was done.

Pepper was a better boss that she imagined and an even better girl friend. Though no one would ever replace Jane, it was nice to have another lady to chat with. Darcy had never thought business and pleasure could mix so well. Boss-lady Pepper and girl-time Pepper were vastly different people. Work Pepper was succinct and had a laser focus on the target. Fun Pepper told rambling, off-color jokes and, on occasion, had a mouth that could make a sailor blush.

The short time she had spent in her employ had been one of the most relaxed and fun times in her professional life, much like the internship she took with Jane, pre-Thor. Sure, it involved more four star restaurants than shabby motels in the desert, but the feeling was the same. She couldn't wait until Jane was back. She had a feeling Pepper would like her, and it was always nice when your got along.

Pepper texted her back promptly, another plus, and requested she briefly join her in her office before the beginning of her weekend. Darcy quickly got into her brand spanking new company car (Silver Mazda2) and made her way to STARK Industries.

Darcy was so relieved by her completely-normal-and-not-at-all-strange ultrasound that the inevitable soul-crushing New York traffic didn't even make her road rage kick in. Or maybe that was all the yoga. Either way, she arrived at her designated parking spot with nary blip on her anxiety screen.

As she rode the elevator up to the top floor she checked her phone again in the hope she would hear _something_. No dice. All quiet on the texting front. She grumbled under her breath and shoved her phone away. It was fine. Everything would be fine. Oh God, please be fine.

The doors dinged open and she walked straight past the receptionist (Ha! She'd always wanted to do that.) and into Pepper's absolutely _gorgeous_ office. Pepper had given Darcy her own office, but truthfully, she was either in here with Pepper or at the Tower, working from her room. Maybe one day she'd use it, but for now, she didn't need one, even though she knew the corner office just one floor below her already had her name on the door in gold paint and it as was bigger than her room in Avenger's Tower.

Pepper's smile as she walked in the room was tight but relieved. "Darcy," she said. "You got over here faster than I anticipated. Take a seat on the couch, I'll be over in a second."

Darcy nodded and flopped back on the couch, sighing in relief, messing with her skirt. One of the benefits about working such a high profile job was the clothes. The downfall of working for such a high profile company was the clothes. She loved looked classy as hell, but this being pregnant thing made her want to rip her clothes off with even more fervor than usual, and she'd been at war with her bra since middle school. Pregnancy boobs were a whole new level of frustrating.

Pepper came over, coffee in hand for her and a green tea for Darcy, and curled up on the couch, kicking her shoes off on the floor. She gestured to the folder Darcy hadn't realized she was still carrying. "Got the all clear?"

Darcy breathed out explosively. "Yeah—for now. I totally forgot all my questions though. I definitely need to write them down for next time."

Pepper nodded between sips before setting her cup on the coffee table. She sighed and looked at her expectantly. "So," she began. "I take it you've noticed the absence of the Avengers."

"Is that why the Tower has been so quiet?" she joked.

The red haired woman laughed, looking surprised at the sound. Darcy resolved to make Pepper laugh more. The woman could use a break. "Yes," she replied. "I imagine it's been pretty quiet."

"Very quiet."

And stressful. And nerve-wracking. And lonely.

"Well," Pepper said. "I hope you had your fill of peace and quiet, because it's over."

Darcy blanched. "They're back?"

"Not yet," Pepper clarified. "Sometime tonight, early tomorrow. I just got a call from Tony, which was interrupted by Director Fury. Apparently, even though they're coming back, they're still supposed to be on communication lockdown until they return stateside."

Her unimpressed expression spoke volumes about how she felt about that order. Darcy knew that even though the spark between Tony and Pepper had burnt out they were still incredibly close. "Do you know what they were called down there for?"

Pepper grinned. "I'm not supposed to, but being the CEO of STARK Industries has its benefits, especially when they want to use our technology."

Darcy laughed. "Fury trying to freeze you out too?"

"Unsuccessfully," she drawled. "And speaking of freezing, whatever was down in South America was doing a little freezing of its own. There was a requisition for a lot of cold-resistant equipment."

Darcy raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You'd think we'd have noticed. Or the news would have noticed."

Pepper just gave her a look. Darcy sighed. "Fury owns the news, doesn't he?"

"Something like that."

"Any injuries?" Darcy felt her heart pound in her chest in anticipation.

Pepper took a long, deep breath. "Not that I know of, but my conversation with Tony was…brief."

"Right."

This wasn't filling Darcy with reassurance.

Pepper took another long sip of coffee before speaking. "I actually have nothing I need to you do right now. I just wanted to call you in and let you know I'd heard from them." She took another sip, even though Darcy saw her cup was empty. "I mean, there are ten million things Tony needs to do—that you'll need to do, truthfully—but it'll be a few days before he'll even listen to them. To me. He might listen to you sooner, if only because he still won't be expecting it."

Pepper tossed her head back and covered her face with her hands. "I need a drink," she whispered. She sat up and looked at Darcy. "You'd think I'd be used to this by now."

"I don't think you can get used to something like this," Darcy consoled. "Are you—I mean, are you going home after this? Or to the Towers?"

"I think I am just going to wait Tony out at the Towers. He never calls when he gets back. He could be missing a limb and I wouldn't know about it until he walked in with a prosthetic. And maybe not even then, because he'd just invent something to hide it!"

Darcy sensed this was an old argument. "Do you just want to come back with me?" she asked. "I found Tony's wine stash when I was looking for the candied pecans Natasha has taken to hiding on me. You can drink all her delicious yet fruity wine and I can OD on the veggie canapés I made earlier this week and we can wait to yell at them when they come home."

Pepper chuckled thickly. "God, do you mind?"

"Of course not," Darcy said. "Pretty sure your probably kinda own it, even if I did."

She laughed again. "I only own half."

Darcy couldn't tell if she was serious. "Your car or mine?"

Pepper leaned over and slipped into her sky-high heels. "Yours. I called for a car this morning."

Darcy nodded and stood to help Pepper with the complex tax of closing up her office. When you were privy to as much sensitive material as STARK industries, as well as being one of the wealthiest companies in the world, there were a few (a lot) of security precautions that needed to be taken care of in order to sleep well at night.

They locked things down in a record twenty minutes and waved to Pepper's receptionist Andrew on the way out. Darcy forced herself not to stare at the gorgeous redhead with an appealing smattering of freckles on his face. Seriously, her libido was getting out of control.

Unlike the trip to the office, the trip home was infuriating. Post-satisfactory baby scan buzz gone, she was ready to get out of her car and beat the hell out of every taxi driver that cut her off. Pepper gracefully repressed her giggles at Darcy's growled threats and white-knuckled fury. By the time they pulled into the underground garage, Darcy was ready to rip her steering wheel off. Any attempts to do so were derailed by the presence of SHIELD vans parked just so, blocking the elevators, overflowing with gear.

She and Pepper shared a look before scrambling out of the car and toward the elevator, Darcy nearly taking out one of the junior agents with her massive purse and newly-acquired fancyass business bag. She'd apologize later.

Pepper pressed the up button rapidly, glaring at her watch, already on her cell phone; no doubt calling Tony to berate him for not calling. _Again._

Darcy tapped her toes, wanting to yell for JARVIS to speed this the hell up. They spilled out of the door as they opened and they were met with the sight of Tony drinking straight from a bottle of wine, still in his Iron Man suit. Pepper jammed the end call button and stalked toward him, heels clicking against the floor ominously.

Tony spotted her and swallowed hurriedly, backing towards the doors that lead to his labs. "Pep!" he said quickly. "I was just about to call you!"

"The hell you were!"

Aaaaand that's Darcy's cue. She turned and made her way to Steve's room, hoping he'd be inside. If not, then the gym. After that, she had no idea. She opened her door to toss her things inside and kick her shoes across the room before speed walking down the hall. She rounded the corner and her cell phone started ringing. She slowed her steps and fumbled in her jacket pocket.

She exhaled in relief as she saw Steve's name. She smashed her spastic fingers against the answer button. "Hel—"

She was cut off as she turned the corner and ran into an extremely unforgivable surface. Wonderboy himself. His hair was damp and he looked tired as hell. "Steve," she breathed in relief, phone falling from her loose fingers.

"Darcy," he began, sheepish, thumbing the call end button and shoving the phone in his pocket. "I was just calling you."

She nodded and stooped to pick up her fallen phone. "I know."

Steve gave her a penetrating stare. "Are you okay?" he asked finally.

Darcy felt her face become comically incredulous. "Are _you_ okay?" she shot back.

Steve was quiet for a long moment before eventually whispering "Tired," —like that was an acceptable response after being gone almost four days.

"What? What—what was even happening?"

Steve looked adorably tongue-tied, but then Darcy became even more furious. "Are you not supposed to tell me?"

"No," Steve was quick to clarify. "I just literally have no idea what was going on. Thor swears it wasn't Loki but…"

Darcy waited a beat. "But?"

Steve shrugged. "Ice monsters," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "It seemed like something was controlling them, but we never found it. Once we found the body of water they were using to regenerate, it was easy to eliminate them, but nothing explaining _how_ or _why_ they were there."

Steve looked unusually shaken for a fight that was apparently so easy. And then it hit her like the Titanic hit that iceberg. _Ice._ "Are you, um, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Just glad that it's over. To be home."

Darcy nodded dumbly.

Steve ran a hand through the back of his damp hair. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there for the appointment."

Darcy blinked. She felt like the trip to Dr. Grim's office was days ago, instead of just hours. "Oh," she said. "Right. Um, that's okay." It wasn't. "I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be." She was worse.

"Good," Steve said. "Still, I'm sorry. I said I wanted to be there, and then the first appointment—"

"Hey," Darcy interrupted. "I get it. Really, I do. This saving the world business doesn't exactly have a time table. I mean, I wish I knew what was happening—"

"I tried to call," Steve said, voice filled with frustration. "Once, before we went on the chase. Natasha took my phone, because we were under orders not to make calls or break our cover."

And well, that made Darcy feel tingly in a lot of places. And melty. Tingly and melty. Steve blatantly disobeyed orders to try to call her. It also made her annoyed. Damn Natasha. She understood the need for secrecy and discretion, but still. She was pregnant. She was allowed to be irrational. Honestly, she was irrational all the time, now she just had an excuse.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I, uh, have a video. If you want."

"A video?"

"Oh, um, of the ultrasound? They tape it now so you can watch it at home. I got a copy for you."

Steve looked flabbergasted. "I can still see it?" he asked.

"Yeah, she recorded the whole thing. Um, I have to tell you, I didn't ask a single question, I completely forgot everything I wanted to ask or talk about."

The American hero grinned. "That's okay. We'll remember next time. I made a list."

_We'll_. Darcy's insides quivered. And she totally called that list business. "It's in my room," she explained, taking a few steps back down the hall.

Steve smiled. "Neat."

They made their way to Darcy's room in comfortable silence. Steve still looked worn out, a feat for someone that routinely ran marathons as a warm up and could probably punch though Tony's Iron Man suit given enough determination. Darcy had to restrain herself from pushing his messy fringe away from his face, soothing a hand down his arm, rubbing his shoulder in comfort.

She was glad when they reached her room, giving her something else to focus on. She quickly gathered up her bags from the doorway and moved them onto the coffee table. Darcy rummaged around her enormous purse for just _one_ of the DVDs and vowed that tomorrow, she would definitely downsize. Probably.

She grinned in triumph when her fingers finally found the cool plastic case of the DVD. Turning, Darcy went over to her flat screen and inserted the DVD into the built in player, waiting for it to load. She turned to Steve to see him standing awkwardly just inside her door, trying not to look around her room curiously.

"Oh," she said. "Sorry. Sit down. Do you want a drink? I think I have some regular tea or water. Or a soda or two," she guiltily admitted.

Steve quickly took a seat in the armchair. "Water's fine," he replied with a tentative smile.

And sheesh, Darcy was getting real sick of how careful they behaved around one another, even though she was totally guilty of doing the same thing. She merely nodded and grabbed two bottled from her small fridge and joined him in her sitting area, sighing and stretching out on the chaise lounge.

The TV displayed a simple menu and Darcy dug her fingers into the crevices of her chair, searching for the wayward remote. Steve did the same and handed her the black control with a real grin, Darcy rolling her eyes in response. She supposed she was lucky she had been too tired from work to watch TV in bed, instead just falling right to sleep. She just put on the news in the morning, like the grown up she was, and pretended to listen as she got ready for work. If it had fallen under her bed, it would have most likely been forever lost to that dark abyss.

Darcy pressed play and nearly lost her breath. On the tiny screen at Dr. Grim's office, the progress seemed unnoticble. Here, on her indecently large screen, it was remarkable. Beside her, she heard Steve's breath stutter out of him as well.

"Wow," he said. "It looks so different. It—they grew so much."

Darcy nodded wordlessly, dragging her eyes away from the screen and onto Steve as he was about to hear the heartbeat for the very first time. Right on cue, a soft thumping filled the air. Steve's hand fluttered toward his, curling and uncurling shakily, before curling into a fist and resting over his mouth. "Is that…?"

"Yeah," Darcy whispered thickly.

Steve's throat worked to swallow and he tore his eyes away from their little spawnlet to give her a desperate, vulnerable look. She felt an answering welling in her eyes and gave into the urge to reach for his hand. She slipped her fingers into his callused hand and felt the prickling in her eyes grow at the tender grip. She sniffled involuntarily.

" _Miss Lewis,"_ JARVIS intoned, making her jump. She didn't release her grip on Steve's fingers, who was once again entranced by the sonogram. _"I thought it prudent to inform you that Mister Stark is attempting to access your DVD feed."_

Darcy looked toward the ceiling, eyes fluttering back in annoyance. "Give me strength," she growled. Darcy doubted Pepper had let Tony off this quickly, which only meant he was actively attempting to distract her with baby things/ignore her by snooping.

"Let him," Steve said from beside her. Darcy looked to him, eyebrow cocked in surprise. "It's incredible," he elaborated. "Incredible," he repeating, sounding like he was speaking to himself.

There was an expectant pause in the air, and Darcy really had to marvel at JARVIS's engineering, that an AI could have such a presence. "Let him," she agreed. Somehow, in these past few weeks, Darcy had discovered she was pregnant, learned her body was capable of something truly amazing, and managed to put _that_ look on the face of a Super Soldier that had faced down mutant Nazis, the wrath of Loki, and woken up in an era filled with wonders he never could have imagined.

And that _was_ incredible.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dead*
> 
> Okay, time is going to start picking up a bit in these next chapters! I want to get on to more exciting milestones, for out favorite duo and their baby.
> 
> Hope you liked it!


	5. Bubble Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I haven't totally abandoned this fic, though it felt like I would at times. The only excuses I can offer are one very dead computer, extreme family problems, like, police involved family problems, and some serious emotional turmoil on my part. Still, the fog is clearing, the issues are resolved, and I have a brand new laptop on which to type my stories. Huzzah!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this long overdue update. No amount of groveling or smut could make up for the length between updates, but I am certainly going to try. Again, I apologize for any and all mistakes, especially in the latter half of this chapter. I was really eager to post it, so I may have missed some things in my haste. 
> 
> Enjoy. :)

Darcy was pouting. There was no way around it. She had tried to deny it, she had avoided the sympathetic looks from her tower-mates, but it was getting to a point where there was no way around it.

She was going to have to buy maternity clothes.

Although it wasn't obvious she was pregnant yet, her clothes were getting uncomfortably tight around her growing midsection. Alarmingly, her breasts were not that far behind. She had always been a cup above the rest, but now her already-ample bosoms were getting outrageously big. And did she mention banging? Because they were also banging. Kinda tender, but she had gotten a lot of free things drinks at Starbucks lately thanks to the teenage boy working behind the counter.

Her generous v-necks were even more giving lately, and even her new business clothes were getting a little too sexy-secretary for the office. She didn't want to do anything to bring shame upon the Office of Stark, so it was time to bite the bullet and get some bigger duds.

She stroked a hand down the soft flannel she was wearing. Flannel wasn't usually her style, but these had a special place in her heart. Jane was still away on her research jaunt, but she always made time to Skype with Darcy. At least three times a week, Darcy was treated to Jane's tired-happy face, kind eyes, and poor lighting.

In the past two weeks, Jane casually mentioned that she had been doing a little research (shocker) and found maternity stores that had clothes that weren't completely atrocious. Darcy just smiled tightly and pulled the ratty sweater she had abducted from Jane's condo around her a little tighter. It was one of the only things that still fit comfortably. When she had gone to do her twice-weekly check on Jane's place, she had liberated some of the larger clothes from her wardrobe. Ones that Darcy was certain Jane herself may have liberated from exes and unsuspecting scientists.

"Still stealing Thor's clothes?" she asked, aiming for lighthearted and missing by a mile. Jane was swimming in a grey shirt, neckline nearly falling off her slender shoulder. "I wish I had a supersize boyfriend to steal clothes from. "

_Not just any supersized one,_ Darcy thought.

Jane just tilted her head and gave a sad smile in return. Three days later, a package arrived for Darcy, filled with some of Jane's very own clothes, including the shirt she had been wearing that night. Jane had literally given her the shirt off her back. Darcy burst into tears. With the shirts and soft pants was a note card reading "Until you're ready".

Well, Darcy sure as hell wasn't ready, but she had little choice. She pulled out her phone and texted Jane, asking for the names of some of the maternity stores she has stubbornly refused to take note of.

Today was a day off. Usually, she had a pretty set schedule-Pepper being the queen of organization an all. She generally had Saturday and Sunday off, and usually a half day on Wednesday, since Tuesday night was usually spent chasing after Tony and forcing him to do all the un-fun, un-sciencey things he had neglected during the week, like paperwork, before his weekly meeting with Pepper on Wednesday morning. The past two weeks, since the Avengers had returned from Central America really, had been much more hectic.

Pepper and S.H.I.E.L.D were at war. Directory Fury was demanding more top secret level prototypes to be made for the agency, while Pepper countered with more (legal) access to classified material. They were at an aggressive standstill. While Pepper did battle with the world's most dangerous agency to piss off, Darcy became Pepper's stand-in. Thankfully, she was saved from doing any face-to-face meetings by Pepper's amazing ability to multitask, but for everything else, Darcy was the one to take the lead.

She had all but lived in Pepper's swank office. The first day as pseudo-Pepper she had tried to use her own office, but after having to run up the stairs for a file only kept in STARK Industries CEO's office, she just bit the bullet and made herself at home. Andrew became _her_ assistant, and she had never missed full-caff coffee and energy drinks more in her life.

Yesterday, Pepper had returned to the office victorious, and Darcy half expected to see blood spattered on her stilettos. Darcy could feel the smugness rolling off her in waves, and she and Pepper celebrated by having cocktails (non-alcoholic for her) and very delicious steak salads brought to them straight from the kitchen of a restaurant that probably grossed more in a week than most people did in a year.

Even though Darcy wanted to do nothing more than crawl into her bed and sleep for the next 14 hours, her need for clothes that actually fit and didn't make her feel like she was suffocating outweighed her desire to indulge in some serious sloth action. It was hard to be productive when you were constantly pulling at your clothes in an attempt to arrange them into something more comfortable.

Darcy's phone beeped at her from where it had buried itself in her comforter. It was Jane. She replied with ajumble of elated faces. Darcy rolled her eyes. _Yeah yeah,_ she thought. _About time, I know._

Darcy forced herself from bed and over to her wardrobe, only bothering to pull on a pair of black leggings under the green flannel she was wearing. She looked like a saucy lumberjack. That look was in right now, wasn't it? She mashed her feet into one of her better pairs of flats and began the search for her keys.

Darcy lost her keys so often that Tony had joked about putting a voice recognition chip into them so she could just shout for her keys and they would beep at her until she found them. At the time, Darcy had given him Death Glare #2 and continued to kick pillows over in the living room, looking for her lost keys. Now she wish she had let him.

She finally found them tangled in her sheets and forced herself out the door, juggling her personal and work phones as she made her way to the kitchen. She was going to need some serious fuel to get her through a day of acquiring an _entire_ new wardrobe.

It was still early, so the kitchen was quiet when she entered. Darcy was able to fix herself a cup of decaf coffee, make fruit salad, and poach an egg, before she even heard stirrings from the Avengers.

Steve ambled into view, perfect as ever. His hair was deliciously mussed from sleep, and Darcy felt her libido explode into overdrive. It was really getting out of hand. He gave her a smile and poured himself some orange juice.

"Good morning," he rasped.

"Morning. You're up kinda late."

Steve nodded. "Tony had me up testing some kind of drone, in case of another Loki-scale invasion. I left the lab at four, but Tony and Bruce were still going strong. I'm pretty sure they _just_ passed out over their keyboards."

Darcy groaned. "He is going to be impossible to deal with this week. Pepper is going to kill us both."

"Sorry," Steve said, grinning around his rueful grimace.

Darcy waved hand at him, stuffing the last of her toast in her mouth. "Not your fault. I swear, Tony does this stuff on purpose." She swallowed and shook her head. "Who am I kidding? He totally does this on purpose."

"Yeah. He probably does."

Darcy shook her head, annoyed. "Whatever. I'll get him up when I get back. I can't deal with him right now."

The last time Tony had been up late testing products over the weekend he hadn't done a lick of paperwork, and they had been over two hours late to their meeting with not only Pepper, but the entire board she had set up for the pitch.

It resulted in the one and only argument between her and Pepper to date, and while Tony couldn't give a rat's ass about making the board wait, he actually felt bad about upsetting both Darcy and Pepper. For once, Tony had become the mediator, diffusing the situation that Darcy may have accidentally been mostly Darcy's fault.

Not one to scream, Darcy had lashed out at Pepper's uncharacteristically less-than-professional criticism of her ability to handle Tony. Although she and Pepper were fine, both cooling down and refocusing their assault on one Mr. Stark, Darcy still hadn't forgiven Tony for causing the situation in the first place.

Steve sat down across from her, sipping his orange juice and eating a truly massive bowl of Cheerios. Seriously, did he use an entire gallon of milk in there? And did his shirt have to cling to his biceps so perfectly?

"-rcy? Darcy?"

"What? Huh?" she sputtered. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Steve smiled. "I said 'What are your plans for the day?'. You mentioned getting Tony up when you got back."

"Oh," she said, mentally berating herself. With her energy returning and her libido steadily rising, Darcy was becoming increasing distracted by the perfection that was her baby daddy. And any other virile-looking gent in the area, but mostly good ol' Captain America-and he's been dressing out a lot lately. Apparently, public relations went a whole lot better with the Star Spangled Man. Seriously, that costume did wonders for her own, more personal, solo missions.

"I have to give in and go buy some maternity clothes. Mine just aren't cutting it anymore. And since I have it on good authority that I am only going to get bigger..."

And seriously, was there anything more fucking pointless. Clothes for her to wear, what? Six months? And then sit in her closet, because she couldn't bear to throw them away. Ugh!

Steve chuckled. "Wouldn't you know, I've heard the exact same thing."

"Crazy, man."

Darcy smiled and moved to clean up her breakfast dishes. Steve quickly stood and pressed her back into her chair. "Let me," he said.

Darcy's pulse raced, acutely feeling every point his fingers touched on her shoulder. Though it would be easier for her to take her dishes to the sink and head out the door, she allowed herself a moment of pseudo-domestic bliss. She'd take what she could get.

She slowly sipped her remaining decaf coffee and subtly glanced at Steve as he ate his cereal and read the paper. An actual real paper. Tony had digital subscriptions to papers all over the world, but Steve insisted on reading and actual paper copy of the New York Times every single day.

It was nice. Cozy. But she was kidding herself. It was nothing more than friendly; a routine, and Darcy happened to be there for it.

Regretfully, she finished the last of her coffee and stood. "Well, I should get going. I know that pregnant clothes are kind of a niche market, but I am pretty sure the same general shopping rules apply."

"Want some company?" Natasha asked, voice coming out of nowhere.

Darcy jumped and dropped her mug, shattering porcelain all over the kitchen floor. She slumped against the kitchen table, closing her eyes and pressing a hand to her chest. She opened them to see Steve going for the broom, giving Natasha a salty look, while the red head looked unrepentant. She turned her grin on Darcy.

"Sorry. I thought you heard me come up the elevator."

And wow, Darcy really needed to get her act together and keep her head out of the clouds. She sighed and reached for her purse, gripping it in suddenly leaden arms.

"It's okay. I was just, I dunno, spacing. Not really looking forward to this." She shouldered her bag. "I'm not a big shopper."

Natasha grinned. "Well, I definitely am." Which, huh.

"Wouldn't have guessed.'

"So? Company?"

Darcy shrugged. "Sure. As long as you don't mind the preggo shopping, that would be great."

Natasha shook her head. "Let me change. I'll just be a second." And with that, she was gone.

She and Steve shared a look. "Who knew?" he said. "At least you won't have to worry about getting mugged, with all those bags."

Darcy laughed. "Right?"

"I was going to offer before you left...," Steve began.

"Thanks," she interjected. "Really. There are all sorts of crazies out there, and I definitely would have been easy prey."

Steve chuckled without amusement. "Natasha will probably do a better job than I could have hoped. She'll be able to tell _before_ they go for your bags."

Darcy patted Steve's arm. "And you would have gotten them back; no doubt."

He nodded and put the broom away, floor once again free of broken crockery. He shut the pantry and leaned against the closed door. "Are you going to be gone all day?"

She twirled a dark curl around her finger. "Much as I hate to say it, yeah. I don't see how this is a quick trip." She had put it off way to long. "Why? Did you need something?"

Steve pursed his lips and gave a half-hearted shrug. "If you weren't busy tonight, I was going to ask if we could talk? Just... have a few things I wanted to discuss."

And fuck if that didn't sound ominous. Darcy wanted to say she was too busy, if only to delay whatever it was that warranted scheduled discussion, but she was a grown-ass woman with a baby on the way. It was time to nut up.

"I'll definitely be home around dinner. There is no way I am staying out later, maternity clothes code red or not."

Steve nodded at her declaration, the barest hint of a smile on his lips. "I'll make something, if you want."

Darcy arched a brow. "I'd never miss a chance to get Captain America to cook for me."

"It's not like I cook in the uniform," Steve replied, rolling his eyes.

"Patriotic apron?"

To her immense surprise, Steve blushed. She felt glee rise within her. "Oh my God," she giggled. "You totally have one. Oh my God, where is it? I have to see."

"Maybe later," he said, finally finding his words. Darcy was willing to put good money on the fact that SHIELD had made it so a Cap approved apron appeared in their cupboards upon his moving in. Come to think of it, there was a real possibility that Natasha had a hand in its appearance. Maybe she'd be brave enough to inquire on their shopping adventure.

Probably not. Natasha still intimidated her.

The spy in question glided through the door, looking sleek and svelte and every perfect inch of her felt like a slob in a plaid muumuu. Darcy girded her loins and braced herself for the most devastating shopping trip since she'd had since her sophomore homecoming fiasco, when her she felt like an intruder in her own radically changing body.

"Ready?" Natasha asked.

Darcy did a quick purse check and nodded. "Yup yup. Let's get this show on the road." She turned to Steve and sighed. "So, six o'clock or so?"

"Six o'clock," he parroted. "Good luck."

Darcy groaned. "Thanks. I'll need it."

Steve and Natasha both chuckled at her look of dread. He gave her his best Captain America salute and a wink. "God speed."

Darcy outright laughed and whirled toward the elevator. Natasha was grinning and shaking her head. She pressed the button for the garage and turned to Darcy. "Where are we headed?"

"Hell," Darcy deadpanned.

Finally, Natasha broke and laughed the first real laugh Darcy had heard from her. "Do you really hate shopping that much? Or is the maternity aspect?"

Darcy sighed. "I-I don't know. I know I'm being petulant about...everything. I don't know why I am having such hard time with this. With all of this."

Natasha clucked her tongue and rubbed her arm sympathetically. "Hey, this can be difficult for people that have actually _planned_ on starting a family. I think you're doing well, all things considered."

The doors opened and Natasha guided her toward the spy's own SUV. "I don't want to be doing well 'all things considered'. I just want to be doing _well_."

Darcy hopped into the car after Natasha, the latter in the driver's seat. She paused before putting her seatbelt on. "I just can't screw this up. I've screwed so many things up, and it was okay, because it was just me, and it worked out in the end-but I can't screw this up. I _can't_."

Natasha looked over at her, hands on the wheel. "I know I'm not Jane," she began. "But if you ever need a another woman-"

"I don't need you to be Jane," Darcy interrupted. "I have a Jane. But I could use a Natasha."

Natasha looked blank for a moment, and Darcy worried that she had overstepped. Then, Natasha's face softened and she gave Darcy a soft, almost-sad smile. She wondered when the last time someone genuinely wanted to befriend the Black Widow.

Darcy felt an prickle in her eyes and cursed the abundance of spawnlet hormones coursing through her body. She cleared her through loudly, making a show of dabbing at her eyes. "That's quite enough of that," she declared.

Natasha laughed and playfully dabbed at her own eyes. "Wouldn't want to ruin my reputation."

"You're secret's safe with me," Darcy quipped.

"Better be," Natasha said with a wink. "Now, where to?"

* * *

Darcy couldn't believe it.

She was in heaven.

What she had thought was going to be an absolutely miserable experience had turned into a day of pure ecstasy. Skirts that didn't stretch tightly over her almost-bump! Deliciously soft and swirly dresses! Blouses and tee shirts that had room for her boobs!

And jeans! Darcy thought she would be waving goodbye to her skinny jeans for the duration of her pregnancy, but the elastic band and kangaroo pouch of elastic on the tummy let her slip comfortably into her favorite slim-fitting denim.

Shopping with Natasha was also a dream. Whether it was Super Spy Observation Skills, or just something innately Natasha, her new red-headed friend presented her with armful after armful of clothes to try on that were nothing short of perfectly sized and tailored to her taste.

"I'm kind of jealous," Natasha said, after viewing a few outfits. She enviously ran her hand down the length of Darcy's bump-approved pencil skirt. "They need to make more women's clothes like this."

"Right?" she replied. Darcy might not be so quick to give up the pregnancy jeans she was initially so hesitant to purchase. "This is much easier than I was anticipating."

Natasha smirked. "What exactly were you expecting? Clothes designed by Loki?"

"Something like that," Darcy deadpanned. "Designed constrict my unruly flesh."

Natasha _tsk_ ed. "You're flesh isn't unruly; it's pregnant."

Darcy raised her eyebrows and gestured to her dangerously bouncing bosoms.

"Well," Natasha amended. "Most of it isn't unruly, but pregnancy had little to do with that particular problem."

"Yeah, they're a handful."

"I'm jealous of that, too."

And Darcy lost it, right in the middle of A Pea in the Pod. She laughed so hard she had to sit on the changing bench, while Natasha threw her head back and shook with silent mirth. When Darcy wiped her eyes she noticed another pregnant woman and what must have been her mother giving them the stink eye.

_Let them_ , Darcy thought. For the first time in a long time, she was in a great mood. Jane would be coming home soon, she had made new friends in Pepper and Natasha, and her energy was returning to normal.

Not to mention she was getting pretty kickass at her morning yoga. Apparently her pelvis was loosening up to pop this peanut out in a few (way too few) months. Her downward facing dog was unreal. Speaking of which...

"Yoga pants," Darcy said. "I need yoga pants. Or maybe leggings? Some kind of workouty clothes."

Natasha looked pleasantly surprised. "Yoga?" she asked. "Do you need them for yoga, or are you just looking for clothes to work out in?"

"Yoga, actually. Bruce and Dr. Grimm both recommended it for me, so I figure I better listen to at least one of them."

"Do you like it?"

Darcy nodded as she ran her hands over sinfully soft yoga gear. "Yes, actually. Well, at least I think I do from what I pick up on YouTube."

Natasha made a dismissive noise. "That's only going to get you so far. Have you thought about going to a class?"

Darcy pursed her lips and absently patted her stomach. "I dunno...," she said. Darcy may be getting more comfortable with the whole pregnancy, but she had never liked fitness classes. She didn't need a room full of nubile fitness bunnies to judge her rapidly rounding form as she struggled to remain upright.

Natasha caught her introspective funk and thinned her own lips sympathetically. "What about a pregnancy yoga class?"

"They have those?"

"In New York?" Natasha drawled with a flick of her eyebrow.

Darcy heaved out a sigh. "True. This is the Land of Uptown Maternity. They probably have classes for like, organic basinet weaving."

Natasha nodded her head in agreement. "Without a doubt."

"Still, I don't know...," Darcy said.

"I could show you," Natasha offered.

"Classes?"

"Yoga."

"You do yoga?" Darcy asked, incredulous.

Natasha laughed and gave Darcy a playful push on the shoulder. "Why is that surprising?"

"I dunno," Darcy shrugged. "It just seems so boring for you."

Natasha shook her head. "Surprisingly, espionage requires a certain level of flexibility; personally and physically."

"That's actually not that surprising," Darcy replied.

Natasha chuckled. "I suppose not."

Darcy finally reached the checkout counter, with both she and Natasha carrying a mountain of clothes. She plopped them down on the counter and the saleswoman began ringing them up at lightning speed. Like most stores, there was an array of knick-knacks to entice you into spending just that much more.

Most of the stuff was just an explosion of pink and blue, and Darcy had to roll her eyes. The further into her pregnancy she got, the more annoyed she was by pink and blue _anything_. It seemed to be taunting her. She was going to use different colors out of sheer spite.

However, there was one thing that caught her eye. There was a small boxed kit to take a clay imprint of your baby's foot and hand, with room in the middle for a picture of said babe. It looked like a picture frame, with three separate sections for each part of the keepsake. After a moment, Darcy reached over and slowly added it to her swiftly disappearing clothes mountain.

She meet Natasha's eyes and the agent gave her a slow, supportive smile. "That'll be really nice."

"Yeah, I'm a sucker."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Now, about that yoga."

Darcy dug around in her massive bag and handed over her credit card with a grimace at the total. "Well, what do you mean?"

"I'd be happy to show you some more poses that might not be on YouTube. Besides, I'd like a workout partner that doesn't periodically disappear to climb ropes or solely focuses on hitting things really really hard."

"I'm not really into working out," Darcy warned. "This yoga thing is kind of a surprise, and I think that's because it feels more like stretching than exercising."

Natasha winked. "We'll ease you into it. You're pregnant; I'm not about to ask you to run a marathon with me."

"That's a relief," Darcy drawled.

"Now, after you've delivered the baby...," Natasha trailed off. "Well. We'll see."

Darcy gathered up her purchases with Natasha's help. "After I pop this thing out, I might _want_ you to make me run a marathon. A 5k at the very least. Get me back down to 'fighting weight'."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Hey, I didn't say I would."

Natasha turned and pushed open the door with her perfect backside, enigmatic smile in place. "Sure you didn't."

* * *

The rest of the day went by in an enjoyable haze. Darcy was sure that she would want to cry when it was Natasha's turn to try on outfit after flawless outfit on her insane body, but that couldn't have been farther from the reality.

Sure, jealously roiled like writhing snakes in her gut at how well Natasha pulled off even the most simple outfit, but the undertone of shame she had been expecting was completely absent. And Natasha knew a surprising amount of swanky-but-not-hoity-toity shops to hit up.

Since she had finished her preggo-preparation, she got to spend the rest of the day lounging on plush couches set up outside elegant waiting rooms, sipping on sparkling water.

As it turns out, she and Natasha actually had a lot in common, you know, if you took away the spy/assassination aspect of things.

"I started young," she admitted. "Maybe too young, but it's what I knew."

"Do you ever get tired of it?" Darcy asked. "I can't imagine that it's something you wake up looking forward to."

Natasha sighed. "Of course I get tired. More and more tired all the time."

"But it's pretty kickass, right?"

The redhead turned around in the cream colored figure hugging dress with her best man eating grin. "Totally kickass."

"Awesome," Darcy breathed.

Natasha turned around and looked over her reflection in the mirror. "I wouldn't mind a little settling down, though. Some actual downtime."

"Yeah, I imagine vacation days don't really mean anything if Egypt is being attacked by Transformers."

"Not so much, no."

Darcy leaned back on the blood red couch and watched herself pat her stomach in the reflection of the mirror. "You can try getting pregnant. It did wonders for getting me to commit to some downtime."

Natasha laughed and nodded in sarcastic agreement. "I'll keep that in mind for a later date."

"You should," Darcy jested. "And you should also get that dress. I can see you waffling."

"It's just so impractical," she sighed.

"For what?" Darcy asked. "To assassinate someone in? I know a way to take blood out of just about any fabric."

"And how would you know _that_?"

"What? I've been in my share of scuffles. And I was in a sorority for a semester. You wouldn't believe the amount of catfights they had."

"No," Natasha said, slipping back behind the luxurious changing curtain. " _That_ I'll believe."

* * *

When Darcy finally shuffled back into her room, her new-friendship/new-clothes buzz had faded, and she was flagging fast. Still, she had made it home with an hour to spare before her dinner appointment with Steve.

She had managed not to think about what he could possibly want to talk about all day, but now that she was home, and that she could smell the delicious smell of something amazing homey coming from the kitchen, all her nerves returned to her.

Natasha had seen her to her room, helping schlep her bags, and left with a promise to collect her in the morning for some yoga in the living room.

To resist freaking out, Darcy occupied herself with packing away the parts of her wardrobe that would be making a swift exit for a few months, and replacing them with all her shiny new purchases. To her surprise, she spent the next forty-five minutes in an enjoyable trance.

Her phone beeped at her to let her know she had fifteen minutes left until her appointment with Steve. She had been very careful not to think of this as a date-it wasn't. It was exactly as she said; an appointment. An appointment with a friend, sure, but an appointment nonetheless.

She pulled on a pair of her new jeans and a grey v-neck and ran a quick brush through her hair. Finally she slipped on a pair of fluffy, knitted brown socks and made her way to the kitchen.

Sadly, as she peeked around the corner, Steve wasn't in an apron; at least, he wasn't anymore. It appeared that the deliciously mouthwatering smells she had noticed earlier was a hearty look beef stew and some crusty bread.

Darcy felt her mouth water and some of her anxieties melt away. Stew wasn't a pull-out-all-the-stops-because-I-am-going-to-upset-you meal. Stew was a comfort meal. Hopefully she wouldn't need a more comforting than the stew could do.

Steve looked up at her and smiled. "Right on time!"

Darcy grinned in return and allowed herself to be pulled into a truly excellent hug. She closed her eyes and let herself cling for just a moment before letting go.

Steve pulled out her chair for her and served her first and she felt herself relax, despite all the anxiety that should be churning inside her. "This smells amazing," she said. "Like, wow. Pat yourself on the back."

"Thanks," he said, cheeks pinking slightly. "It, uh, it's my mom's recipe."

She whistled. "You were a lucky boy. My mom can't even boil water."

His grin turned bittersweet and Darcy wanted to kick herself. Open mouth, insert foot.

"Yeah," he said. "I was pretty lucky."

Darcy spooned a mouthful of stew into her gob before she could stick her foot into it again. "Whoa," she said in awe. "Like, _whoa_. Why aren't you cooking all the time, again?"

Steve laughed, melancholy evaporating. "Because cooking for the Avengers is an even more daunting task than taking on the Chituari."

"Ain't that the truth," she agreed. "Why do you think Bruce cooks with rice so much?"

"Um, because he's a vegetarian?"

Darcy snorted. "It super filling and super easy. Don't let the exotic flavors fool you." She took another bite. "God, this is so good. It's exactly what I wanted and I didn't even know it."

"I'm glad," Steve said, digging into his own food.

Dinner passed in a blur of comfortable conversation and Darcy had to remind herself to not be so comfortable as to lick the bowl clean.

She leaned back and rubbed her stomach in contentment, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Yum, " she breathed.

Steve grinned and cleared there bowls away, and Darcy almost forgot that there was another reason for this dinner than Steve stuffing the future mother of his child with healthy, hearty cuisine. Then Steve turned around with a manila folder of papers in his hand and her heart seized.

"Uh-oh," she said. "Serious time."

Steve grimaced and nodded. "Sorry."

"Don't be," she said, waving her hand and sitting up. "What's on your mind, Cap?"

Steve stared at the papers in his hand, face serious, before turning to her. "Dying."

Darcy sputtered and shook her head incredulously. "Excuse me?!"

"It-I'm not dying," he stuttered.

Darcy exhaled gustily and leaned her elbows on the table, cradling her face in her palms. "Jesus, Steve."

"Sorry, I don't know why I said it like that."

Darcy breathed in shakily. "It's fine. Just-what are you talking about? Dying?"

Steve looked at her, face somber. "What I do is really dangerous," he began.

"No shit," Darcy muttered. Steve caught it, expression unimpressed.

"Like I said, what I do is really dangerous. What the Avengers do is really dangerous. Beyond dangerous. It's...it isn't safe. For me." His face softened. "For you. For _both_ of you."

A vice tightened around Darcy's heart. She _mmhmm_ ed tensely, eyeing the folder with trepidation. What the hell was in there, because this sounded dangerously close to backing out to her. _For their own good_ and whatnot.

"Every time I get called out," he said. "It could be my last. The things that are out there, they're crazy, and impossible, and there are times when I don't know how we can possibly overcome it. I used to worry before, of course. No one wants to die, not really.

But after you told me you were pregnant, things changed. When we were in South America dealing with this last problem, all I could think about was what would happen to you... to the baby, if I died. "

"Steve, where the hell are you going with this?" Darcy finally blurted.

He sighed and opened the folder, pulling out a thick sheaf of legal looking forms and handing them to her. She snatched them from his lax grip and scanned over the content hurriedly.

"Steve?" she asked after a moment."Is this a life insurance policy?"

He nodded. "Yes. I had the papers drawn up right after I got back."

"I," she began. "This is...way too much."

"No," he said. "It's not enough."

"This is a ridiculous amount of money. And why am I on here?"

"Because if I die, I want you _and_ the baby taken care of," he said, slowly, calmly, like it wasn't absolutely ludicrous.

Darcy shook her head. "Steve, you aren't going die."

"You can't know that."

" _You aren't going to die_ ," she repeated, voice strained.

"You. Can't. Know that," Steve said, voice gentle.

"No." she said. " _No_. This is completely unnecessary."

"Darcy," he said softly. "Just because you won't sign these papers doesn't mean that I can't die. And signing these papers doesn't mean I will. It's just a precaution."

Darcy realized she was twitching her leg so hard that the table was shaking when Steve reached over to still her erratic movements. "Darcy," he began.

"I know," she said. "I _know_. I know you're right. I just don't-"

"I know," Steve replied. "I don't really want to think about it either but... I can't stop."

Darcy exhaled shakily. "I'll look it over. Then we can go sign it together or get it notarized or whatever we have to do."

"Thank you, Darcy," he said, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

Darcy squeezed back and didn't bother letting go. "Thank _you_." She sighed, hanging her head in the hand not occupied. "I guess we should think about guardians too, huh? And I should also draw up some of the same papers. Working for STARK Industries isn't exactly worry-free."

Steve nodded, lips thinning. They looked at each other for a long time, not speaking, and if Tony _fucking_ Stark hadn't walked in at the exact moment Darcy felt her resolve to not kiss Steve completely dissolve, Darcy would have disgraced herself. As it was, Darcy couldn't decide if she wanted to gut the inventor or to lay one on him instead.

Tony, noticing the serious mood in the room, stopped his trek into the kitchen. "I'm interrupting something," he declared, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I'm just gonna..."

And with that he slinked out of the kitchen.

"Tony is not on the short list for guardians."

"No," Darcy agreed. "I love him, but no. Beloved eccentric uncle he shall remain."

Steve pushed himself away from the table. "Would you like a cup of tea?" he asked, running his hands through his hair.

"I would love a cup of tea."

Steve turned to brew their tea, and Darcy took a moment to look over the documents again, now that she wasn't having a nervous breakdown and was almost startled when Steve placed a mug of tea in front of her.

"Thanks," she murmured, inhaling the strong scent of the decaf tea she'd picked up. Even the smell comforted her before her first sip. "So," she said, pushing the papers aside for now. "Guardians. Did you have anyone in mind?"

"Did you?"

Darcy nodded. She'd had one in mind for weeks now. "Jane," she said easily. "She's-she's amazing. "

"She is," Steve agreed. "You'll find no complaints from me. I think she's a great choice."

Darcy smiled. "I still have to ask her."

Steve looked at her skeptically. "Like she's going to say no."

"Well!" she exclaimed. "You never know! It's a big responsibility to accept, even though it's an unlikely one they'll ever even have to assume. Until very recently, if someone had felt close enough to ask me, I don't know that I could have said yes because I would probably lose them in the black hole that is my room! "

Steve smiled at her as she absolutely did not rant. "Don't laugh at me!" she said, unable to hold back her own giggles. "I'm serious!"

He held up his hands in surrender before reaching for his own tea and taking a long sip.

"What about you?" she asked again. "Who did you have in mind?"

"Honestly?"

"No," she drawled. "Lie to me."

He rolled his eyes and flicked the back of her hand. "Okay, smartass."

Darcy feigned shock and placed a hand against her chest as if to steady herself. "Captain America, such language. And in front of the mother of your future child, no less. For shame."

"I'm sorry to offend your delicate sensibilities," he mocked.

Darcy flicked his hand back. "But seriously, who?"

He sighed. "Would it be weird to ask Natasha?"

"Natasha? Really?"

Steve grimaced. "It would be weird, wouldn't it?"

"Heck yes it would, " Darcy agreed. "Do it."

" _What_?"

"Between Jane and Natasha, that kid would never have to worry about anything. Jane would my him super smart, and Natasha would teach him to kick so much ass. _And_ he would have _two_ godmothers. Guardians. Whatever. Stickin' it to the man! It's a win-win-win situation."

"Win-win-win," Steve repeated fondly. After a moment, Steve spoke up again. "Him?"

"Oh," Darcy said, mentally replaying their conversation. "Did I say him?"

Steve nodded.

"Oh," she repeated. "I dunno. I guess I kind of imagine a boy. I kinda feel like I would be better with a boy. But whatever, as long as they're healthy."

"As long as their healthy," Steve agreed. "Only... when do we find out? Um, the gender, I mean.,"

"Uh, not for a little while yet. I mean, I've read some conflicting stuff. Some say as early as twelve weeks, depending on the ultrasound, and some say twenty weeks. I... probably should have asked that at the OB/GYN."

Steve just shrugged. "Just curious. I would love either. My friends all just had to wait and see when the baby was born, or trust whatever wives tales they believed. It's amazing that you can tell so early."

"Do you _want_ to be surprised?" Darcy asked. "We can do that."

Steve shook his head. "No, actually. I-I can't wait to find out."

"Guess we better start thinking about names, huh?"

Steve nodded. "We've only got five or so months to decide."

"I'll probably need them," Darcy said. "When I was a kid, it took me so long to name my cat that she ended up being called 'Little Cat', because it took me too long to decide, and that's what I called her in the meantime. 'Baby' isn't exactly a great name for a kid."

"Maybe not," Steve replied, grinning.

Darcy rolled her eyes. "So why Natasha? " she backtracked. "Not that I have a problem with that; I just didn't know you guys were that close."

He nodded. "After SHIELD...defrosted me, I guess, she was there all the time, along with Coulson. It was easier for me to talk to her than it was Coulson, at least for a while. I spent a lot of time in the gym, and so did Natasha, so it was only natural that we talked while we worked out.

She's... she's is nothing like what I expected. Not because she's a female spy, but because she reminded me of things I didn't think I wanted to think about."

Darcy bit her lip. "Peggy?"

Steve nodded. "But it didn't make me feel sad, it only made me happy to know someone like that again."

Darcy grinned slyly, remembering something Natasha had said earlier. "Are you the workout partner that focuses things on hitting things really hard?"

"I break a punching bag a few times, and she never lets it go." Steve said in fond exasperation.

"Well, I thought she was talking about Thor, so," she said with a shrug.

Steve laughed, but before he could reply, her phone's alarm went off with an insistent beep. She grimaced apologetically and quickly swiped the screen. "Sorry," Darcy said. "Skype date with Jane. We're supposed to be talking about what kind of hypothetical baby shower I might like. Since, you know, the mother isn't exactly supposed to plan it."

"Baby shower?" Steve said, almost wistful.

Darcy gathered up the papers in front of her and carefully put them back in the folder. "Yeah, but don't worry, I'm not going totally traditional. A ladies-only affair would be pretty boring. And small."

Steve flushed attractively and Darcy couldn't help but rub a hand over his bicep. His deliciously taut bicep. "Hey," she soothed. "When you said all in, and I agreed, I meant it. All in. It's your baby too. Why wouldn't you get to celebrate it?"

"You're amazing," Steve said.

To her horror, Darcy drew her had back and gave Steve a bro-punch to the shoulder. "You're not half bad yourself, champ," she said, like some terrible 1950s baseball coach had assumed control over her mind and body.

Thankfully, Steve only laughed and pushed away from the table, gathering their cups. "Tell Jane I said 'Hello'," he said. "I'll see you in the morning, Darcy."

"See you," she repeated, scurrying back toward her room.

As she burst through the door she could hear the sound of a waiting Skype call. She slid across the carpet on her socks and hit accept, plopping into her chair seamlessly and making her grin widely as Jane's face appeared.

Jane grinned at her back. "That's a happy face!" She exclaimed. "I thought I was going to be treated to Grumpy Darcy, after all that maternity clothes business."

"It was great, actually," Darcy replied. "Like, weirdly great. I forgot what comfortable clothes felt like. And Natasha came with me. I had, dare I say it, fun?"

"Natasha!" Jane said, voice scandalized. "Are you cheating on me?!"

Darcy nodded somberly. "Yes. I'm sorry to tell you like this, over Skype, but it's for the best. I am trading you in for a possibly-younger model."

"Definitely a more lethal model," Jane said.

"Right?" Darcy said. "I have never felt safer while shopping in New York."

Jane nodded. "I can imagine. But, in all seriousness, I'm glad you had a good time. I was so worried that you'd be upset."

"Nope, not a tear or hissy fit to be found. And I got a ton of clothes. That you are _not_ allowed to steal, Dr. Foster," she said sternly, loving the guilty, lip-biting smile Jane gave her in return. "Not yet, anyway. Maybe after I've finished incubating this egg of mine."

Jane had given up trying to get her to call her little pea anything resembling the word "baby". Darcy was kind of disappointed. She thought Jane would hold out until at least week eighteen. Here she was, fourteen weeks, and not a correction to be heard.

"But you are totally going to want to steal this stuff," she said, smoothing her hands over her jean-clad thighs. "They are hella comfy, even the business stuff."

"Well, I hope you got a party dress," Jane said, segueing beautifully.

Darcy nodded enthusiastically. She'd optimistically bought a few, to be honest. Jane was coming home soon, and she was looking forward to some outings with her lady scientist.

"Now," Jane said, pulling out a legal pad covered in notations. "Let's talk about themes."

Darcy shrugged. "Surprise me. "

Jane clicked her tongue in annoyance. "That's no fun! I wanna talk about it with you. Tell me!"

Darcy smiled at Jane's excitement. "Nothing 'retro'," she clarified. "Might not go over well, you know?"

"Shoot," Jane said, quickly slashing an item off the list. "I'm glad you said something. I didn't even think about that."

"What did you just cross out?"

"Olde-tyme circus."

"Oh," Darcy said. "That's actually pretty cool."

"I know, right?" Jane agreed, all but giving herself a round of applause.

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Alright, Dr. Modest, let's hear what else you've got."

"Movie premiere!"

Darcy was impressed. That certainly had potential. "Also good. Keep 'em comin', Foster."

"Bakery theme."

"Bakery theme?" Darcy questioned.

"You know," Jane said. "For 'the bun in your oven'?"

Darcy hung her head. "You and your puns disgust me."

"Whatever, Lewis. You love it, and I have a million. Frog theme, for your little tadpole. Or alien themed, for our very own Mothership. Shall I go on?"

Darcy was beside herself with laughter. "I suppose I gave you a lot of ammunition for this, huh?"

"Only a bit," Jane answered. "But seriously. Thoughts?"

Darcy sighed, pulling her hair into a loose ponytail. "I don't know, and I don't care, as long as it's fun. I don't want any seriousness, or sadness, or anything like that. Or sports. None of that."

Jane shook her head. "Seriously? Those are your criteria? No seriousness, no sadness, and above all, no sports."

"If I even see the hint of a baseball, I will throw it at you," Darcy promised.

"Oh, what, soccer balls are okay?"

Darcy patted her barely-bumpworthy stomach. "Only the one it's going to look like I am smuggling under my shirt."

"Noted. Now, as long as you really do want to be surprised...?" Jane trialed off.

"I do."

Jane grinned happily. "Well, then we can move on to what I really wanted to talk about."

"Ugh," Darcy groaned, slouching in her chair. "More serious stuff."

"More?"

Darcy grabbed the manila folder and held it up. "Life insurance. That was a fun talk with Steve."

"Smart though."

"Yeah," Darcy said. "Smart. But awkward."

Jane nodded. "I bet."

"How awkward is _this_ one going to be?"

Jane's image froze for a moment, her face unpromisingly remorseful. "I don't know that 'awkward' is the right word...," she said.

"More like...?" Darcy asked.

"Stressful," Jane finished.

"Joy."

"Yeah," she said. "We've kinda touched on it before."

Darcy sighed. "Okay. And?"

"It's just...after the shower, right?"

"Right," Darcy parroted.

"Then you have all this baby stuff. For a baby."

"Yeah?"

"Darcy," she said, tone strained. "Where, exactly, are you planning on putting this baby once it arrives?"

_And lo_ , Darcy thought. _The end to my perfect day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo, yeah...

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, chapter one down. I know this chapter was missing the happy, funny Darcy that we all know and love, but it's kind of a heavy time for our gal.
> 
> Never fear, she will be returning soon, along with pregnancy related hijinks and emotions and the Avengers reactions to the bun in Miss Lewis's oven.
> 
> Also, I know you need to see an OB/GYN and not an MD when you are pregnant, but that will be dealt with later :)


End file.
